REVISED  EDlTlOn 


Rural  Economics  and 
Rural  Sociology 


Sy 


JOHN  PHELAN.  A.  M. 

Director  ol  the  County  Teachers  Training  Cour«e 
State  Normal  School,  Stevaaa  Point.  Wi«. 


Price  Thirty-five  Cents 

EAU  CLAIRE  BOOK  &  STATIONERY  CO. 

EAU  CLAIRE.  WISCONSIN 


A  BRIEF  COURSE  IN 


RURAL  ECONOMICS  AND 
RURAL  SOCIOLOGY 


Sv 


JOHN  PHELAN.  A.  M. 

Direotor  of  the  County  Teacher*  Training  Comrse 
State  Normal  School.  Stevens  Peint.  Wis. 


EAU  CLAIRE  BOOK  &  STATIONERY  CO. 

EAU  CLAIRE.  WISCONSIN 


/4^^ 


Copyright,     1913 

By   JOHN   PHELAN 

Published   July,    1913 

Revised   and   reprinted   April,   1915 

MAIN  LIBItARV.AGmcULTURE  DEf^ 


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INTRODUCTION 

m 

The  cordial  reception  given  the  first  edition  of  this  little 
book  has  made  a  second  edition  necessary.  Some  changes, 
which  in  the  light  of  class  room  use  seemed  advisable  have 
been  made.  Many  topics  have  been  treated  more  fully,  a  few 
that  were  not  in  the  first  edition  have  been  included,  and  a  few 
others  have  been  omitted  entirely.  A  course  of  study  adapted 
to  eighth  grade  pupils  in  rural  schools  has  been  added.  In  mak- 
ing use  of  this  course  of  study  in  a  rural  school  it  is  suggested 
that  the  topics  be  taken  up  in  connection  with  the  work  in  his- 
tory, civics,  geography,  etc. 

This  book  is  intended  as  an  introduction  to  the  study  of 
rural  economics  and  rural  sociology.  It  has  been  prepared  to 
meet  the  needs  of  rural  teachers  and  pupils  in  rural  schools. 
In  no  sense  is  it  a  scientific  treatise.  It  will  have  served  its 
purpose  if  it  leads  its  readers  to  a  further  study  of  the  great 
movements  makijig  for  the  betterment  of  country  life. 

JOHN    PHELAN 

Department  of  Rural  Schools, 
State  J^Iormal  School 

Stevens  Point,  Wisconsin. 
April,   1915 


5005r.G 


Digitized  by  the  .Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/briefcourseinrurOOphelrich 


Part  I. 

RURAL  ECONOMICS 


SOME   ECONOMIC  TERMS 


Economics  Definted.  The  first  question  that  naturally 
arises  in  our  minds  when  we  take  up  a  new  subject  is  what  is 
the  subject  about.  If  we  examine  text  books  on  general  econ- 
omics, we  find  that  the  topics  treated  are  those  about  which  we 
read  every  day  in  the  newspapers  and  magazines ;  as,  for  ex- 
ample, labor  and  wages,  child  labor,  labor  unions  and  their  pur- 
poses, strikes  and  boycotts,  capital  and  interest,  banks  and 
banking,  exchange,  land  and  rent,  tenancy,  conservation  of 
natural  resources  in  mines,  forests,  streams,  fertility  of  the 
soil,  etc.  We  note,  too,  that  all  of  the  topics  have  something 
to  do  with  wealth.  This  fact  leads  us  naturally  to  the  defini- 
tion of  economics  as  "the  social  science  which  treats  of  man's 
wants  and  the  goods  (commodities  and  services)  upon  which 
the  satisfaction  of  his  wants  depends."  A  simpler  definition 
is,  "Economics  is  a  study  of  man's  efforts  to  get  a  living". 

Rural  Economics.  Rural  Economics  treats  of  those  ac- 
tivities of  man  which  have  to  do  with  the  making  and  spending 
of  a  living  in  the  country.  In  a  constructive  sense  it  is  con- 
cerned with  the  business  life  of  rural  communities,  in  order 
that  farm  crops  may  be  improved  in  quality  and  quantity,  that 
farm  products  may  reach  the  consumer  with  the  least  pos- 
sible cost  of  transportation  and  delivery,  that  the  business  of 
farming  may  be  made  more  exact  through  the  aid  of  science, 
that  accounting  may  take  the  place  of  rule  of  the  thumb  meth- 
ods of  cost  computation,  that  those  who  will  make  the  best 
use  of  the  land  be  encouraged  to  remain  upon  the  farms,  and 
above  all  that  the  future  may  be  provided  for  by  making  the 


farm  a  better  place  in  which  to  live  and  rear  a  family.  As  a 
subject  it  draws  much  of  its  data  from  geography,  history, 
agriculture. 

Its  aim  is  to  improve  business  conditions  on  the  farms, 
in  order  that  country  life  may  be  made  more  permanent  and 
•satisfying  and  the  rural  population  conserved. 

The  increase  in  the  cost  of  living  during  the  past  ten  years 
has  aroused  general  interest  in  all  rural  life  problems.  We 
are  coming  to  realize  that  with  our  population  increasing  at 
the  rate  of  two  millions  per  year,  with  all  of  our  first  grade 
land  under  cultivation,  with  our  unsatisfactory  conditions  of 
marketing,  we  are  as  a  people  coming  face  to  face  with  the 
problem  of  cheaper  food ;  and  that  we  can  no  longer  afford  to 
neglect  those  forces  which  make  for  rural  betterment. 

Value  of  Economics.  A  large  part  of  the  backwardness, 
narrowness,  and  unhappiness  of  life  in  both  city  and  country 
is  due  to  a  lack  of  comprehension  of  conditions  in  the  commu- 
nity in  which  we  live  as  compared  with  the  conditions  in  other 
communities.  All  of  us  have  to  decide  what  we  shall  do  in 
life ;  all  of  us  have  to  meet  certain  demands  which  society  lays 
upon  us ;  hence  we  need  to  know  something  about  the  econom- 
ic and  social  conditions,  not  only  where  we  live  but  elsewhere. 
Boys  and  girls  in  the  city  need  to  know  more  about  country 
life  than  they  do.  They  need  this  training  for  its  social  value. 
Some  of  them  will  turn  to  the  farm ;  others  will  be  closely  con- 
nected with  business  related  to  farming;  all  of  them  will  be 
citizens  of  a  nation  whose  prosperity  largely  depends  upon 
the  prosperity  of  its  farmers.  Boys  and  girls  in  the  country 
need  to  know  more  about  the  opportunities  and  possibilities 
of  farm  life.  The  tendency  of  education  in  the  past  has  been 
to  over-emphasize  the  advantages  of  city  life  and  to  under- 
emphasize  the  opportunity  the  country  affords  for  leading  a 
useful  and  happy  life.  The  boy  whose  school  training  has 
been  such  as  to  lead  him  to  believe  that  the  country  offers  no 
opportunity  while  in  the  city  there  is  but  little  chance  of  his 
not  becoming  a  Morgan  or  a  Rockefeller  has  been  given  a  dis- 
torted view  of  life.     Economics  should  teach  the  truth  about 


industrial  conditions  and  give  boys  and  girls  broader  and  sa- 
ner views  of  life. 

The  primary  purpose  of  all  education  is  training  for 
citizenship  in  the  large  sense  of  the  word.  A  good  citizen  is 
able  to  make  an  honest  living  by  his  own  labor;  hence  the 
schools  should  prepare  him  to  be  an  efficient  worker  and  give 
him  some  knowledge  of  the  industrial  conditions  which  he  will 
have  to  meet.  A  good  citizen  is  able  to  do  his  part  of  the  work 
which  society  requires.  He  must  be  able  to  fill  local  offices  in 
church,  state  and  school;  and  hence  he  must  know  something 
about  the  needs  of  his  community,  economic,  social,  political. 
Good  schools  and  churches,  improved  roads,  and  efficient  gov- 
ernment are  not  the  result  of  accident  but  are  the  direct  pro- 
duct of  education  to  higher  and  better  ideals  of  life  and  living. 
A  good  citizen  must  be  able  to  derive  pleasure  from  books, 
magazines,  pictures,  lectures,  and  other  intellectual  interests. 
Illiteracy  in  our  land  is  a  disgrace  for  the  younger  generation. 
Right  thinking  and  living  are  as  much  part  of  good  citizenship 
as  the  ability  to  make  money,  and  right  living  and  thinking 
depend  largely  upon  one's  intellectual  outlook.  A  good  citizen 
must  be  a  potent  force  in  support  of  the  right,  able  to  distin- 
quish  quickly  and  accurately  between  the  right  and  the  wrong 
of  every  public  question.  If  the  purpose  of  the  school  is  to 
train  for  citizenship,  it  follows  that  teachers,  in  whose  hands 
rests  a  large  part  of  the  education  which  our  boys  and  girls 
receive,  must  themselves  know  something  of  the  practical  af- 
fair of  everyday  life. 

The  Development  of  Agriculture  in  the  United  States 

Early  Agricultural  Conditions.  Our  agricultural  devel- 
opment has  been  influenced  by  many  forces  chief  among  which 
may  be  mentioned  (1)  our  vast  western  territory  of  rich  farm- 
ing land ;  (2)  the  invention  of  farm  machinery  and  tools ;  (3) 
the  development  of  railroads,  canals,  and  roads ;  (4)  slave  la- 
bor in  the  south;  (5)  the  development  of  factories  and  the 
growth  of  large  cities ;  (6)  agricultural  education. 

During  the  colonial  period  and  after  the  Revolution  until 
about  the  year  1830  but  little  progress  was  made  in  agricul- 


ture.  The  Indians,  who  were  not  bad  farmers  for  their  day, 
taught  the  colonists  many  lessons.  From  them  the  early  set- 
tlers learned  how  to  grow  the  two  chief  crops  of  colonial  days, 
corn  and  tobacco.  The  Indians  practiced  seed  selection;  they 
fertilized  their  fields  with  fish;  they  recognized  the  value  of 
birds  to  agriculture ;  they  made  use  of  irrigation  in  the  West ; 
they  cured  tobacco,  preserved  meats,  fruits,  vegetables. 
Though  their  methods  of  farming  were  crude  and  their  tools 
few,  it  is  said  that  they  raised  not  less  than  one  milHon  bush- 
els of  corn  per  year. 

Many  of  the  farm  crops  and  animals  had  to  be  introduced 
into  this  country  from  Europe.  Wheat  was  first  grown  by 
Gosnold;  potatoes  were  brought  to  Europe  from  Chile  and 
thence  to  the  North  American  colonies.  Horses,  hogs,  azid 
cattle  were  brought  here  by  Columbus. 

Custom,  tradition,  and  ignorance  controlled  agriculture 
in  the  early  days.  Rotation  of  crops  was  unknown,  and  ma- 
nures but  little  used.  The  people  were  facing  problems  with 
which  they  were  unfamiliar.  They  were  ignorant  of  the  soil, 
the  climate,  and  of  the  crops  suited  to  the  new  land. 

Period  *  of  Westward  Expansion.  After  the  Revolution 
the  settlers  pushed  rapidly  into  the  Western  country,  attract- 
ed by  the  rich  farming  land.  The  fact  that  there  was  rich  land 
to  be  had  in  the  West  has  tended  to  make  the  American  a  poor 
farmer,  for  there  was  little  need  of  preserving  the  fertility  of 
the  soil.  Again,  the  shifting  of  the  people  westward  tended 
to  hinder  the  development  of  settled  community  life  and  com- 
munity institutions,  such  as  the  school  and  the  church.  Last 
but  not  least,  the  frontier  encouraged  a  spirit  of  independence, 
a  feeling  of  every  one  for  himself  and  no  interference.  Long 
after  the  frontier  passed  away  the  spirit  of  independence  in 
thought  and  action  remained,  making  cooperation  among  far- 
mers diflJicult  and  hindering  the  development  of  local  institu- 
tions which  depend  for  their  support  upon  united  action. 

Period  of  Inventions.  The  period  beginning  about  the 
year  1830  marks  a  decided  change  in  our  agricultural  develop- 


merit,  due  to  the  invention  of  farm  machinery  and  the  develop- 
ment of  railways  and  other  means  of  communication.  The 
first  patent  for  a  mowing  machine  was  granted  in  1831,  and 
for  a  reaping  machine  in  1833,  although  they  did  not  come  in- 
to general  use  until  1850.  The  harvester  followed  in  1850  and 
the  steam  thresher  in  1860.  The  invention  of  farm  machinery 
resulted  in  a  great  saving  of  time  and  labor.  This  saving  is 
best  shown  by  the  computation  made  by  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  of  the  time  required  to  produce  a  bushel  of  wheat 
and  a  bushel  of  corn  before  and  after  the  introduction  of  labor 
saving  machinery.  It  once  took  four  hours  and  forty-five 
minutes  of  labor  to  produce  a  bushel  of  corn,  while  under  mod- 
ern conditions  it  is  produced  by  forty-one  minutes  of  labor. 
In  1855  a  bushel  of  wheat  required  three  hours  of  labor  to  pro- 
duce it;  now  it  requires  ten  minutes.  The  invention  of  farm 
machinery  made  less  labor  necessary  in  the  country,  but  the 
laborers  that  remained  had  to  be  more  intelligent,  for  they 
had  to  use  improved  machinery. 

The  development  of  railroads  and  the  means  of  transpor- 
tation entirely  changed  the  farming  business.  Before  rail- 
roads were  built  crops  were  raised  only  for  the  support  of  the 
farm  family  and  for  the  local  market,  but  with  the  building  of 
great  railroads  the  local  market  was  changed  to  a  world 
market  and  farming  was  undertaken  on  a  far  larger  scale. 

The  effect  of  the  inventions  of  this  period  may  be  summed 
up  thus:  (1)  They  made  it  possible  for  the  farmer  to  produce 
for  a  world  market  and  gave  him  the  market.  (2)  They  reduced 
the  amount  of  labor  necessary  to  manage  the  farms.  (3)  They 
drove  from  the  country  to  the  cities  the  poorer  and  less  intelli- 
gent class  of  farm  laborers.  (4)  They  tended  to  increase  the 
isolation  of  the  daily  life  of  the  farm. 

The  Factory  System.  The  growth  of  factories  in  this 
country  was  stimulated  by  numerous  inventions,  by  the  use 
of  steam  for  power,  and  by  the  development  of  better  means 
of  transportation.  The  factory  has  revolutionized  both  city 
and  country  life.  It  has  given  cities  some  of  their  greatest 
industrial  problems.     The  newspapers  are  filled  with  accounts 


of  labor  disputes  and  strikes.  The  legislatures  are  busy  enact- 
ing laws  protecting  women  and  children  from  too  long  or  too 
early  service  in  the  factories.  Factories  have  enabled  manu- 
facturers to  produce  more  goods  and  a  better  quality  of  goods, 
since  the  workers  speciahze  in  performing  one  piece  of  work. 
The  effects  of  the  factory  on  the  rural  districts  have  been:  (1) 
They  have  decreased  the  supply  of  labor.  (2)  They  have  taken 
from  the  homes  much  of  the  labor  that  was  formerly  done 
there,  making  the  home  more  dependent  at  the  same  time  that 
it  makes  it  more  comfortable  through  cheaper  factory  pro- 
ducts that  make  for  comfort.  (3)  The  congestion  of  the  popu- 
lation in  the  city  has  given  rise  to  bad  moral  and  social  condi- 
tions which  in  turn  react  upon  rural  districts.  (4)  There  is  less 
education  through  labor  than  there  was  in  the  days  of  home 
manufacture. 

Slave  Labor.  Slave  labor  retarded  the  development  of 
the  South.  It  was  a  failure  in  every  respect,  for  it  limited  the 
possibilities  of  industrial  growth  and  development.  Free  la- 
borers avoided  the  South,  where  labor  was  degraded  by  slav- 
ery. Agriculture  was  limited  to  certain  crops  which  could  be 
raised  on  plantations  by  negroes  under  an  overseer.  The  soil 
was  robbed  by  constant  cropping  and  nothing  was  done  to  re- 
store its  fertility.  Indeed  with  slave  labor  nothing  could  be 
done.  Southern  wealth  expressed  itself  in  land  and  slaves. 
There  was  no  hope  for  the  South  until  labor  was  free.  As 
Grady,  the  distinguished  Southern  orator,  has  phrased  it: 
"The  Old  South  was  founded  on  slavery  and  agriculture;  the 
New  South  on  freedom  and  manufacturing." 

Scientific  Farming.  Scientific  farming  received  its  great- 
est impetus  with  the  passage  of  the  famous  Morrill  Land  Grant 
bill  by  Congress  in  1865.  Each  State  was  given  thirty  thou- 
sand acres  of  public  land  for  each  senator  and  representative 
in  Congress,  to  be  used  to  endow  a  college  of  agriculture  and 
mechanical  arts.  Later  Congress  gave  each  state  $30,000  each 
year  to  maintain  an  experiment  station  and  $50,000  to  help 
support  an  agricultural  college. 

The  Department  of  Agriculture  was  established  as  a 
Bureau  in  1862  and  created  as  a  Department  in  1869.     It  has 

10 


now  grown  so  that  it  employs  almost  14,000  persons  and  costs 
about  twenty-two  million  dollars  a  year.  The  work  of  the  De- 
partment has  been  far  reaching  in  its  influence.  Crops  of  all 
kinds  have  been  improved,  new  crops  introduced,  better 
methods  of  farming  stimulated  through  colleges  of  agricul- 
ture and  experiment  stations,  diseases  have  been  eradicated, 
and  general  farm  knowledge  disseminated.  The  bulletins  of 
the  Department  may  be  had  on  application  and  should  be  re- 
ceived by  every  teacher. 

Farm  Demonstration  Work.  Within  recent  years  a  great 
deal  of  good  has  been  accomplished  through  the  demonstration 
farm.  The  state  and  national  government,  agricultural  col- 
leges and  universities  employ  men  to  serve  as  demonstration 
agents. 

Under  this  plan  the  farmer  agrees  to  follow  the  advice 
and  suggestion  of  the  demonstration  agent  in  his  locality  in 
the  cultivation  of  two  or  three  principal  crops.  Usually  the 
principal  money  crop,  as  cotton,  a  renovating  crop,  as  clover, 
and  the  chief  food  crop,  as  corn,  are  selected.  The  agent  visits 
the  farm  often  during  the  growing  season  to  watch  progress. 
The  advantage  of  the  plan  lies  in  the  fact  that  each  farmer 
who  succeeds  becomes  a  missionary  for  better  farming. 

Present  Day  Problems  in  Rural  Economics 

In  a  general  sense  there  are  three  sets  of  problems  which 
have  arisen  in  rural  economic  life.  They  have  to  do  with  each 
of  the  three  factors  of  production :  land,  labor,  capital. 

Land  Problems.  One  of  the  most  striking  facts  shown 
by  the  last  census  is  that  during  the  decade  from  1900  to  1910 
the  price  of  land  in  the  United  States  increased  104%,  a  great- 
er increase  than  in  a  period  of  fifty  years  before.  The  claim 
is  made  that  though  the  price  of  land  has  rapidly  increased 
during  the  past  ten  years,  the  value  of  land  as  measured  by  the 
producing  power  of  the  soil  has  not  increased,  if,  indeed,  it  has 
not  decreased.  An  Illinois  farmer  gave  this  testimony:  *Tif- 
teen  years  ago  my  land  was  producing  90  bushels  of  corn  per 
acre;  now  it  is  producing  48  bushels,  and  I  can  not  get  more 

11 


out  of  it.  At  that  time  it  was  worth  $75  per  acre;  now  it  is 
worth  $190."  The  increase  in  the  price  of  land  has  changed 
farming  so  that  it  is  no  longer  a  poor  man's  occupation,  as 
land  is  rapidly  getting  beyond  the  reach  of  the  poor  man.  It 
is  also  bringing  sharply  before  the  country  the  need  of  better 
education  in  order  that  farmers  who  will  make  the  best  use  of 
the  soil  may  be  trained  up  in  our  schools. 

Rent  and  Tenancy.  Agricultural  rent  is  what  the  farmer 
can  afford  to  pay  for  the  use  of  land  for  agricultural  purposes. 
There  are  three  kinds  of  rent  in  the  United  States :  cash  rent, 
the  payment  of  a  definite  sum  per  acre  for  the  use  of  land; 
crop  rent,  common  in  the  South  but  not  in  the  North,  the  pay- 
ment of  a  specified  number  of  bales  of  cotton  or  bushels  of  corn 
for  the  use  of  a  certain  piece  of  land ;  and  share  rent,  the  pay- 
ment of  a  share  of  the  crop  raised  whatever  the  amount  may 
be.  Cash  and  crop  rent  are  fixed;  share  rent  varies  with  the 
yield  per  acre. 

The  increase  in  the  number  of  tenant  farmers  in  the 
United  States  is  now  viewed  with  alarm  due  to  the  fact  that 
the  history  of  tenantry  in  Europe  has  too  often  been  a  history 
of  sorrow.  Every  third  farm  in  the  United  States  is  now  in 
the  hands  of  a  tenant  farmer  and  the  number  is  increasing 
year  by  year  as  may  be  seen  from  the  following  table : 

1880     25.6% 

1890     28.4% 

1900     35.3% 

1910     37    % 

The  tenant  farmer  is  not  as  good  for  our  national  devel- 
opment as  an  owner.  The  tenant  is  not  interested  in  keeping 
up  the  fertihty  of  the  soil,  for  the  land  does  not  belong  to  him 
and  he  wishes  to  get  as  much  out  of  it  as  he  can  in  the  short- 
est possible  time.  He  can  not  improve  the  buildings  and  fen- 
ces, for  this  task  belongs  to  the  landlord.  He  is  not  interested 
in  the  development  of  local  schools,  for  he  does  not  expect  to 
remain  in  the  neighborhood,  nor  is  the  non-resident  landlord, 
for  he  no  longer  uses  the  school.  Roads  are  not  built  if  they 
can  be  voted  down  locally  because  the  tenant  is  not  anxious  to 

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increase  his  taxes  and  the  road  will  add  value  to  a  farm  which 
he  does  not  own.  The  history  of  Ireland  is  a  striking  example 
of  what  may  happen  to  a  country  when  the  land  falls  into  the 
hands  of  non-resident  landlords.  No  country  in  the  world 
has  a  sadder  history.  Rebellion  has  flourished  because  the 
people  who  were  on  the  land  did  not  own  it. 

Scarcity  of  Farm  Labor.  In  many  sections  of  the  United 
States  the  farmers  are  experiencing  more  and  more  difficulty 
in  securing  farm  labor.  Several  reasons  may  be  given  for 
this  condition  of  affairs:  (1)  Country  boys  who  in  bygone  days 
suppKed  this  labor  are  now  leaving  the  farms.  (2)  Laborers 
are  hired  for  but  a  part  of  the  year  and  owing  to  the  uncer- 
tainty of  the  period  of  employment  and  the  irregularity  of  the 
hours  of  labor  ambitious  men  do  not  seek  farm  labor.  (3) 
The  probability  of  the  farm  laborer  becoming  a  renter  and  a 
farm  owner  is  less  than  it  was,  owing  to  the  larger  investment 
now  required  to  begin  farming.  (4)  The  social  standard  of 
the  laboring  class  has  deteriorated  within  recent  years  owing 
to  the  fact  that  there  is  a  migratory  class  of  city  laborers  who 
go  out  into  the  country  to  work  with  little  ambition  either  to 
become  expert  farm  laborers  or  to  become  farm  owners.  (5) 
Little  provision  is  made  for  housing  the  married  laborer  who 
would  prove  to  be  more  steady  than  the  ever  shifting  unmar- 
ried man. 

Remedies  for  the  Scarcity  of  Farm  Labor.  Among  the 
remedies  which  may  be  mentioned  are: 

1.  The  employment  of  farm  laborers  by  the  year,  if  possi- 
ble married  laborers,  and  provision  for  their  living  in  small 
tenant  cottages. 

2.  Regulation  of  the  hours  of  labor  by  farmers  in  so  far 
as  this  is  possible. 

3.  Securing  cooperation  on  the  part  of  the  laborer  by  giv- 
ing him  the  opportunity  to  make  a  profit  above  a  good  wage  by 
a  share  in  the  product  of  the  farm ;  for  instance,  giving  him  a 
certain  number  of  bushels  of  potatoes  if  the  crop  yielded  a  cer- 
tain amount.  Profit  sharing  must  come  to  the  farm  as  it  is 
coming  to  the  factory. 

13 


4.  The  development  of  the  local  supply.  Scientific  meth- 
ods of  farming  will  turn  the  attention  of  more  of  the  neigh- 
borhood boys  to  farming  and  hence  will  add  to  the  supply. 

5.  Rewarding  expert  labor  by  higher  wages.  Custom 
now  gives  but  little  higher  reward  in  wages  to  the  good  labor- 
er than  to  the  poor. 

Capital.  One  of  the  most  marked  changes  in  the  business 
of  farming  during  recent  years  has  been  the  great  increase  in 
the  use  of  capital  goods,  of  horses,  stock,  tools,  machinery,  etc. 
This  increase  in  the  amount  of  capital  necessary  to  run  a  farm 
is  having  the  effect  of  bringing  better  organization  to  the  coun- 
try and  is  making  the  farmer  more  and  more  a  modern  busi- 
ness man.  Perhaps  the  keenest  need  of  farmers  today  is  that 
of  more  capital  which  may  be  used  in  the  business.  Many  a 
farmer  strips  his  land,  of  its  fertility  by  selling  the  hay,  wheat, 
and  oats  from  the  land,  when,  if  he  had  a  httle  more  capital  or 
some  means  whereby  he  could  secure  it,  he  would  buy  stock  and 
feed  the  products  of  the  farm  to  the  stock,  thus  saving  the 
manure  besides  adding  to  his  profits  by  giving  him  employment 
during  the  winter.  The  lack  of  capital  has  caused  farmers  to 
cultivate  extensively  rather  than  intensively  because  putting 
in  a  large  number  of  acres  of  some  crops  is  less  costly  than  a 
smaller  number  of  acres  of  a  crop  requiring  a  larger  amount  of 
expenditure  for  labor. 

Agricultural  Credit.  The  need  of  more  capital  in  farming 
today  raises  the  question  of  the  means  of  providing  it.  Cap- 
ital comes  into  existence  only  by  saving.  Some  of  the  capital 
which  is  saved  in  the  country  is  deposited  in  urban  banks,  pri- 
vate, state,  or  national.  It  is  loaned  by  these  banks  to  both 
urban  and  rural  borrowers  when  security  may  be  given.  Urban 
banks  however,  do  not  meet  the  demands  of  the  farming 
people.  They  desire  to  make  short  time  loans  in  order  that 
they  may  turn  their  money  over  quickly,  while  farmers  can 
not  borrow  conveniently  for  the  customary  sixty  or  ninety 
days  because  the  money  is  needed  for  a  longer  period.  Again 
the  rate  of  interest  charged  by  these  urban  banks  is  of- 
ten higher  than  farmers  can  afford  to  pay  because  the  banks 
are  accustomed  to  meet  the  needs  of  urban  rather  than  rural 

14 


people,  and  in  consequence  there  is  a  growing  demand  in  this 
and  other  states  for  some  form  of  agricultural  credit, — some 
agency  by  which  loans  may  be  made  on  good  security,  at  a  low 
rate  of  interest,  for  longer  periods  than  is  customary  for  ur- 
ban banks.  The  greater  part  of  the  business  of  the  cities  is 
done  on  credit,  but  farmers  have  made  comparatively  little  use 
of  the  credit  system. 

Cooperative  Agricultural  Banks.  Cooperative  banks  were 
started  in  Europe  in  the  middle  of  the  last  century.  They  are 
to  be  found  today  in  Great  Britain,  India,  Canada,  and  the 
West  Indies.  An  American  commission  is  now  in  Europe  mak- 
ing a  study  of  this  system  of  credit  with  a  view  to  introducing 
it  into  the  United  States.  By  means  of  these  cooperative 
agricultural  banks  farmers  are  able  to  secure  credit  at  a  low 
rate  of  interest  on  long  time.  In  principle  these  cooperative 
associations  are  not  unlike  the  American  building  and  loan  as- 
sociations. They  operate  within  a  limited  district,  lend  their 
funds  at  the  lowest  rate  consistent  with  safety,  compel  bor- 
rowers to  pay  a  part  of  the  principal  of  their  loans  regularly 
when  they  make  interest  payments.  They  teach  farmers  how 
to  work  together  for  common  ends  and  offer  in  their  shares, 
or  bonds,  investments  for  thrifty  young  people  whose  savings 
are  small. 

% 

THE  THREE  FORWARD  STEPS  IN  AGRICULTURE 

(1)   Better  Farming 

Books  as  Aids.  Dr.  Seaman  A.  Knapp,  whose  demonstra- 
tion farm  work  in  the  South  revolutionized  agricultural  meth- 
ods, once  said:  ''Agriculture  in  most  sections  consists  simply 
in  going  through  a  series  of  motions  inherited  from  Adam". 
His  idea  was  that  farming  is  best  taught  by  means  of  demon- 
stration of  right  methods.  That  he  placed  little  faith  in 
"book  farming"  is  shown  by  his  epigrammatic  remark,  'This 
learning  agriculture  (which  is  composed  of  the  following  in- 
gredients— one  eighth  science,  three  eighths  art,  and  one  half 
business  methods)  is  like  reading  up  on  the  handsaw  and  jack- 

15 


plane  and  hiring  out  for  a  carpenter."  Though  books  will 
not  accomplish  much  for  the  older  people,  boys  and  girls  grow- 
ing up  in  our  schools  should  be  trained  to  make  use  of  bulle- 
tins, farm  papers,  and  books.  No  more  valuable  lesson  than 
Dr.  Knapp's  ten  commandments  of  agriculture  can  be  taught 
in  country  schools. 

The  Ten  Commandments  of  Agriculture  ^ 

1.  Prepare  a  deep  and  thoroughly  pulverized  seed  bed  well 
drained. 

2.  Use  seed  of  the  best  variety,  intelHgently  selected  and 
carefully  stored. 

3.  In  cultivated  crops  give  the  rows  and  plants  in  the  row 
a  space  suited  to  the  plant,  the  soil,  and  the  climate. 

47  Use  intensive  tillage  during  the  growing  period  of  the 
crops. 

5.  Secure  a  high  content  of  humus  in  the  soil  by  the  use  of 
legumes,  barn  yard  manure,  farm  refuse,  and  commercial  fer- 
tilizers. 

6.  Carry  out  a  systematic  crop  rotation  with  a  winter  cov- 
er crop  on  southern  farms. 

7.  Accomplish  more  in  a  day's  work  by  using  more  horsed 
power  and  better  implements. 

8.  Increase  the  farm  stock  to  the  extent  of  utilizing  all  the 
waste  products  and  idle  lands  on  the  farm. 

9.  Produce  all  the  food  required  for  men  and  animals  on 
the  farm. 

10.     Keep  an  account  of  each  farm  product,  m  order  to  know 
from  which  gain  arises,  and  from  which  loss. 

Better  Farming  Through  Knowledge.*  It  has  been  esti- 
mated that  weeds  cost  the  United  States  $300,000,000  per  year. 
They  mean  waste  and  loss  in  time,  money,  and  effort.  They 
adapt  themselves  to  soil,  climate,  and  the  surroundings.  They 
spread  easily  because  they  seed  profusely,  they  distribute 
themselves  readily,  the  seeds  are  usually  long  lived,  and  they 
stay  right  on  the  job  all  of  the  time.  Children  in  the  rural 
schools  should  be  taught  to  recognize  the  weeds  in  the  neigh- 
borhood.    They  should  be  taught  that  weeds  are  spread  in  im- 

*  Adapted  from  Lecture  on  weeds  prepared  by  International  Harvester  Co. 

16 


pure  seeds,  in  the  products  we  buy,  in  manure.  They  are 
carried  by  wind,  water,  snow,  animals,  birds  and  man,  by  tools 
and  machines,  by  railroads.  Weeds  are  harmful  because:  (1) 
They  cut  down  the  yield,  (2)  they  damage  the  crop,  (3)  they 
cheapen  the  product,  (4)  they  mean  hard  work,  (5)  they  in- 
jure stock,  (6)  they  reduce  the  profits,  (7)  they  rob  the  soil, 
(8)  they  lower  land  values,  (9)  they  look  shiftless. 

Weed  Remedies  Country  boys  and  girls  should  know  how 
to  get  rid  of  weeds.  The  following  remedies  should  be  taught : 
(1)  Rotate  the  crop.  (2)  Fan  and  screen  the  seed.  (3)  Cul- 
tivate frequently  and  thoroughly.  (4)  Prevent  seeding.  (5) 
Use  a  smother  crop.  (6)  Pasture  with  sheep.  (7)  Enrich 
the  ground.  (8)  Dig  out.  (9)  Develop  community  sentiment. 
(10  Keep  everlastingly  at  it. 

Good  Seed.  The  importance  of  good  seed  is  clearly  shown 
by  the  following  table  prepared  by  the  New  York  Experiment 
Station  in  1912.  One  pound  of  alsike  clover  98%  pure  con- 
tained the  following  number  of  weed  seeds : 

Canada  Thistle  288 

Sorrel 4,272 

Dock 288 

Plantain  1,712 

Foxtail  288 

Chickweed   5,408 

Others 6,560 

Total    18316 

Value  of  Birds.  The  total  value  of  the  farm  products  of 
the  United  States  in  1910  was  $8,926,000,000.  It  has  been  es- 
timated that  birds  saved  at  least  one  per  cent  of  this  crop,  or 
in  other  words  that  the  yield  was  greater  by  89,000,000  of  dol- 
lars because  birds  destroy  insects  which  are  harmful  to  crops. 
It  has  been  estimated  that  the  yearly  loss  to  farmers  through 
insects,  amounts  to  $700,000,000.  This  loss  would  be  far 
greater  were  it  not  for  the  farmers'  bird  friends.  Indeed, 
were  it  not  for  the  birds,  agriculture  would  be  well  nigh  im- 
possible. Birds  occupy  a  unique  position.  They  are  the  farm- 
er's cavalry.  When  there  is  a  marked  increase  in  the  num- 
ber of  insects,  rodents,  or  other  enemies,  the  birds  gather  and 
.      •  •      '  17 


fight  the  enemies.  Not  only  should  we  teach  that  birds  should 
not  be  wantonly  destroyed,  but  there  should  be  encouraged  the 
building  of  houses,  the  planting  of  hedges,  the  furnishing  of 
water  and  even  food  in  order  that  the  number  of  birds  may  be 
increased. 

(2)  Better  Business 

The  man  who  undertakes  farming  has  a  number  of  busi- 
ness problems  which  confront  him  at  the  start. 

1.  The  Location  of  the  Farm.  Land  located  near  the  cities 
is  often  held  for  speculative  purposes  and  sells  at  too  high 
a  price  to  make  it  possible  to  earn  a  reasonable  income  from 
the  farm  on  account  of  the  amount  of  the  investment.  On 
the  other  hand,  land  located  too  far  from  a  good  market  is  un- 
desirable because  of  the  cost  of  delivery  of  the  products  of  the 
farm,  especially  if  the  roads  are  not  good.  In  a  study  made  of 
the  earning  power  of  farmers  it  was  found  that  those  farms 
paid  best  which  were  located  not  too  near  ajid  not  too  far  from 
a  good  market. 

2.  Size  of  Farm.  A  second  business  problem  which 
arises  is  the  size  of  the  farm,  which  he  will  purchase.  The 
small  farm  is  not  economical  in  the  use  of  machinery  or  labor*. 
The  farm  large  enough  to  employ  the  labor  of  at  least  two  peo- 
ple seems  to  give  the  best  labor  income.  Of  course  there  are 
exceptions,  but  the  larger  farm  is  more  economical  in  the  use 
of  labor  and  machinery. 

3.  The  Type  of  Farming  in  which  he  will  engage  is  an- 
other problem  which  the  farmer  has  to  answer.  He  may  un- 
dertake general  farming,  that  is  make  no  crop  a  specialty,  or 
he  may  engage  in  specialized  farming,  such  as  dairying,  fruit 
raising,  etc.  The  general  farm  seems  to  be  best  for  all  pur- 
poses in  that  it  furnishes  steadier  employment  throughout  the 
year  and  more  sources  of  income.  Specialized  farming  on  the 
other  hand  requires  greater  skill  as  it  places  all  of  the  farm- 
er's eggs  in  one  basket. 

4.  The  Quality  of  the  Land  is  aji  important  question. 
The  best  land  is  to  be  had  usually  only  at  a  very  high  price, 

18 


good  land  at  a  lower  price,  and  run  down  land  at  a  low  price.  It 
seems  to  be  generally  true  that  poor  land  affords  the  farmer 
but  little  opportunity,  as  it  requires  too  much  expenditure  to 
bring  up  the  fertility  of  the  soil. 

5.  The  Amount  of  Capital  and  equipment  needed  by  the 
farmer  becomes  greater  each  year.  How  much  shall  be  invest- 
ed in  machinery;  whether  he  shall  raise  registered  cattle,  hogs, 
and  horses,  or  m^ke  no  effort  and  be  satisfied  with  scrub  stock, 
are  questions  which  have  to  be  decided.  It  was  estimated  that 
before  the  invention  of  the  Babcock  test  fully  one  half  of  the 
cows  in  the  state  of  Iowa  were  not  paying  for  their  feed.  Good 
stock  pays  in  two  ways,  (1)  a  larger  mo,ney  return,  (2)  a 
larger  amount  of  personal  satisfaction  in  the  production  of 
good  rather  than  poor  animals. 

Farm  Income.  The  farm  income  depends  upon  many  fac- 
tors, such  as  weather  conditions,  depredation  of  insects,  rav- 
ages of  plant  and  animal  diseases,  and  the  uncertainty  regard- 
ing prices  of  farm  products,  which  are  certain  to  be  far  below 
the  prices  paid  by  the  consumer.  The  uncertainty  of  the  in- 
come is  in  a  measure  offset  by  the  certainty  of  gaining  a  liveli- 
hood. Personal  qualities  to  a  large  extent  determine  the  in- 
come of  the  farmer — his  knowledge,  his  skill,  his  industry,  the 
exercise  of  good  judgment  in  managing  the  business  of  the 
farm,  his  willingness  to  learn  from  others,  and  his  ability  to 
profit  by  his  own  mistakes  and  those  of  his  neighbors.  That 
the  labor  income  of  the  farms  is  not  high  is  shown  in  an  ex- 
haust-ve  study  made  by  Dean  Liberty  Hyde  Bailey  of  the  New 
York  College  of  Agriculture.  Dean  Bailey  shows  that  the  la- 
bor income  of  tenant  farmers  in  the  area  studied  was  approxi- 
mately as  follows :  one  third  of  the  farmers  were  making*  less 
than  they  paid  to  the  hired  man  on  the  farm,  one  third  of  them 
were  making  about  as  much,  and  one  third  of  them  were  mak- 
ing more. 

Education  and  Farming.  Professor  Bailey  points,  out 
that  the  average  labor  income  of  those  farmers  who  went  to 
the  district  school  only  was  $.318,  the  average  labor  income  of 
those  who  went  to  the  high  school  was  $622,  and  the  average 
labor  income  of  those  who  had  more  than  a  high  school  educa- 

19 


tion  was  $847.  In  other  words  a  high  school  education  is 
equivalent  on  the  average  to  $6,000  worth  of  five  percent 
bonds. 

Marketing.  Better  business  through  better  marketing 
conditions  is  one  of  the  pressing  needs  of  farmers  and  city  con- 
sumers today.  The  long  line  of  middlemen  and  distributors 
between  the  farmer  and  the  consumer  are  in  a  position  to  take 
advantage  of  the  market  and  to  a  certain  extent  control  the 
market  because  they  are  organized  to  keep  informed  of  market 
and  crop  conditions  and  to  act  more  promptly  than  either  far- 
mers or  consumers  who  are  not  organized.  The  present  prices 
of  farm  products  furnish  ample  proof  that  there  is  plenty  of 
room  for  lowering  the  cost  to  the  consumer  without  injury  to 
the  producer.  This  marketing  problem  will  have  to  be  solved 
by  better  organization  of  farmers  and  improved  methods  of 
marketing.  To  increase  the  output  of  the  farm  in  order  that 
a  larger  share  may  go  to  the  middleman  is  not  an  attractive 
program  for  any  farmer. 

Cooperation  in  Buying  and  Selling.  Many  cooperative 
associations  have  been  formed  by  farmers  for  purposes  of  buy- 
ing and  selling  to  greater  advantage.  When  these  associations 
were  first  started  it  was  supposed  that  the  result  would  be  of 
advantage  to  both  producer  and  consumer.  The  chief  advan- 
tage to  the  consumer  has  not  been  a  lower  price  but  a  better 
product  for  the  same  price.  Dairymen's  associations,  for  ex- 
ample, have  endeavored  to  maintain  the  going  price  rather 
than  to  lower  it,  but  they  have  supplied  a  better  product  by 
testing  the  milk  and  enforcing  rules  as  to  its  care  from  the 
farm  to  the  market.  Another  advantage  to  the  producer  and 
especially  to  the  small  producer  is  that  of  lower  freight  rates 
through  shipping  in  car  load  lots.  Cooperative  buying  has  al- 
so been  tried  successfully  in  this  and  other  states  with  profit 
to  the  farmer,  but  all  cooperative  movements  call  for  executive 
ability  on  the  part  of  those  managijig  the  business.  The  hope 
of  eliminating  the  middleman  wholly  from  our  economic  sys- 
tem has  not  been  realized.  Cooperative  associations,  through 
competition,  have  lowered  the  profit  made  by  the  middleman 
to  a  more  equitable  standard. 

20 


Middlemen.  By  middlemen  we  mean  those  individuals 
who  handle  the  product  between  the  producer  and  the  consum- 
er. By  many  people  middlemen  are  considered  parasites  and 
non-producers,  but  this  idea  is  wrong.  The  middlemen  ren- 
der services  for  which  consumers  should  pay.  They  take  the 
products  of  the  farm  and  grade  them,  standardize  them  as  it 
is  called.  Potatoes,  for  example,  are  sorted  and  the  small  ones 
thrown  out.  They  see  that  farm  products  are  shipped  to 
points  where  they  will  find  the  readiest  sale.  They  store  and 
hold  products  until  they  are  needed  and  sell  them  in  small  lots 
to  consumers,  delivering  them  at  the  door.  For  all  these  ser- 
vices consumers  must  pay.  The  middelmen  can  not  be  elimi- 
nated entirely  from  our  economic  system,  but  marketing  con- 
ditions should  be  controlled  in  such  a  way  that  too  large  a  pro- 
fit will  not  be  exacted  by  middlemen.  The  results  of  studies 
which  have  been  made  show  that  a  relatively  large  part  of  the 
price  paid  by  the  consumer  goes  to  the  middlemen.  Potatoes 
which  sold  in  New  York  for  90  cents  a  bushel  had  been  pur- 
chased from  the  farmer  for  50  cents.  The  retailer  made  twen- 
ty five  cents  for  selling  them.  Milk  for  which  the  farmer  re- 
ceives three  and  four  cents  a  quart  sells  in  the  cities  for  seven 
and  eight.  It  has  been  claimed  by  some  economists  that  com- 
petition on  the  part  of  middlemen  would  force  prices  down, 
but  often  middlemen  make  agreements  to  maintain  price. 

Mail  Order  Houses.  The  mail  order  houses  have  devel- 
oped wonderfully  during  the  past  twenty  years.  They  are 
made  the  objects  of  bitter  attacks  by  local  dealers,  who  feel 
that  the  mail  order  house  is  taking  away  trade  which  right- 
fully belongs  at  home.  The  mail  order  houses  serve  several 
very  useful  purposes  for  rural  communities,  and  in  time  will 
teach  local  dealers  a  valuable  business  lesson.  The  mail  order 
house  is  a  school  for  purchasers,  giving  them  information  as 
to  prices  and  qualities  of  various  goods.  They  are  by  their 
success  demonstrating  that  there  is  a  lack  of  sympathy  ajid 
understanding  between  city  and  country  due  to  something 
deeper  than  mere  difference  in  prices  and  qualities  of  goods. 
For  this  lack  of  sympathy  and  understanding  the  city  is  fully 
as  much  to  blame  as  the  country.     If  local  merchants  want 

21 


farmers  to  deal  at  home,  they  must  see  that  farmers  are  inter- 
ested and  represented  in  all  movements  that  make  for  general 
community  betterment. 

The  local  merchant  has  the  right  to  claim  the  farmer's 
trade  for  the  reason  that  he  sells  to  the  farmer  on  credit  and 
should  have  his  cash  trade.  The  local  merchant  shows  his 
goods  before  purchase  and  delivers  them  instantly,  an  advan- 
tage to  a  buyer.  He  often  makes  an  effort  to  handle  the  pro- 
ducts of  the  farm  that  may  not  be  needed  badly  at  the  time  in 
order  to  give  the  farmer  a  home  market.  A  further  reason 
for  the  support  of  the  local  merchant  is  that  the  price  of  farms 
is  increased  by  thriving  towns.  The  argument  so  often  used 
by  local  merchants,  that  the  man  who  deals  with  a  mail  order 
house  sends  his  money  away  from  home,  is  fallacious.  The 
local  merchant  sends  the  money  away  from  home  just  as  the 
farmer  does.  The  only  part  of  the  money  which  he  does  not 
send  away  is  the  profit  he  makes. 

Cooperation.  By  cooperation  is  meant  the  working  to- 
gether of  a  number  of  individuals  to  secure  a  common  good. 
In  former  day^  rural  people  cooperated  in  the  exchange  of  la- 
bor during  the  harvest  and  threshing  seasons,  ''exchanged 
work"  they  said.  This  form  of  cooperation  is  dying  out.  The 
threshing  machine  now  carries  its  own  crew  in  many  sections. 
In  place  of  cooperation  through  labor  exchange  there  is  coming 
business  cooperation.  Cooperation  has  made  remarkable  pro- 
gress within  recent  years.  There  are  now  cooperative  so- 
cieties to  furnish  insurance;  to  build  and  maintain  grain  ele- 
vators, warehouses,  creameries ;  to  sell  fruit,  stock,  and  other 
farm  products ;  to  make  local  improvements ;  to  build  telephone 
lines;  to  improve  the  grade  of  corn,  cattle,  sheep,  hogs  and 
horses.. 

A  Typical  Cooperative  Movement.  A  cow  testing  asso- 
ciation usually  consists  of  less  than  25  members  owning  not 
fewer  than  400  cows,  and  preferably  five  hundred  or  six  hun- 
dred. The  present  method  in  Wisconsin  is  to  charge  $1.00  per 
year  for  each  cow.  This  sum  is  paid  to  the  treasurer  of  the 
association  who  in  turn  pays  it  to  the  man  who  tests  the  cow. 

22 


The  first  step  in  organizing  the  association  is  to  get  the  re- 
quired number  of  farmers  to  sign  a  paper  pledging  themselves 
to  furnish  a  given  number  of  cows.  After  this  pledge  has 
been  secured  a  meeting  is  called,  the  laws  of  the  association 
drafted,  and  the  officers  elected.  The  officers  select  a  trained 
man  to  take  charge  of  the  work.  This  man  visits  each  herd 
once  a  month  and  weighs  the  milk  of  each  animal  in  the  herd 
for  one  day.  From  the  weight  and  test  he  calculates  the 
amount  of  fat  produced  for  one  day  and  estimates  the  amount 
of  milk  and  fat  produced  for  the  month.  If  the  farmer  is  in- 
terested in  determining  the  cost  of  each  animal,  the  tester 
v/ill  aid  him  in  finding  out  the  amount  of  food  each  animal 
consumes. 

Causes  and  Failure  of  Cooperative  Societies.  The  chief 
reasons  for  failure  of  cooperative  societies  in  the  United  States 
have  been  (l)lack  of  support,  (2) improper  organization,  (3) 
poor  management.  Those  causes  spring  from  certain  natural 
conditions.  Our  rural  population  has  been  steadily  shifting, 
making  cooperation  difficult.  Our  large  foreign  element  has 
given  rise  to  petty  prejudices  and  jealousies  between  peoples 
of  different  nationahties.  Our  rich  agricultural  country  has 
tended  to  make  us  careless  of  small  savings,  the  vital  principle 
in  cooperative  movements.  Our  scattered  rural  population 
has  made  cooperation  more  difficult  than  in  Europe  where  the 
population  is  much  more  dense,  and  last  but  not  least,  the 
spirit  of  independence,  every  man  for  himself,  characteristic 
of  the  frontier,  has  remained  long  after  the  frontier  has 
passed  away. 

Essentials  of  Cooperation.  (1)  Cooperation  can  not  suc- 
ceed without  local  leadership  which  will  hold  the  people  togeth- 
er. (2)  Cooperation  thrives  best  where  the  business  of  farm- 
ing has  become  specialized ;  as,  for  instance,  dairying  or  fruit 
raising  rather  than  general  farming.  (3)  Cooperation  fails 
unless  accurate  accounts  are  kept  of  cost  of  production  and 
management.  (4)  Cooperation  fails  if  the  control  of  the  en- 
terprise falls  into  the  hands  of  a  few.  Repeated  failures  have 
given  rise  to  the  one  man  one  vote  principle.  (5)  Cooperation 
fails  unless  there  is  a  spirit  of  loyalty  and  the  members  stick 

23 


by  their  membership  agreement,  even  at  a  small  loss  at  first. 
(6)  Cooperation  fails  unless  it  makes  provision  for  the  man- 
agement of  the  business  by  a  good  executive. 

(3)  Better  Living. 

The  well-to-do  farmer  of  today  can  provide  in  his  home 
almost  all  of  the  comforts  and  conveniences  enjoyed  in  the  best 
city  homes.  The  furnace,  running  water  and  bath  room  con- 
veniences, gas  and  electric  lighting,  the  telephone,  the  daily 
delivery  of  mail,  the  automobile  are  all  tending  to  soften  the 
harsh  conditions  of  earlier  days.  One  of  the  most  striking 
facts  is  that  farmers  who  have  acquired  a  competence  leave 
their  farms,  which  they  rent  to  tenants,  and  move  to  small 
villages  where  they  build  more  comfortable  homes  than  they 
had  in  the  country.  Sometimes  the  reason  for  their  leaving 
is  the  superior  educational  advantage  offered  by  the  town 
school;  sometimes,  the  better  church,  more  easily  attended; 
more  generally,  their  moving  is  due  to  the  fact  that  when  they 
retire  and  rent  there  is  no  other  place  to  live,  for  the  tenant  is 
not  pleased  with  the  idea  of  a  resident  landlord. 

To  increase  the  productive  power  of  the  farm  by  improv- 
ing the  crops  in  quality  and  quantity,  to  bring  about  more 
equitable  methods  and  means  of  marketing  in  order  that  the 
consumer  may  pay  less  and  the  producer  receive  more,  is  not 
all  of  the  country  life  problem.  With  these  must  go  ideas  of 
better  and  broader  living  so  that  the  wealth  of  the  rural  com- 
munities may  find  expression  in  good  homes,  good  schools, 
powerful  churches,  in  roads  and  bridges,  in  the  improvement 
of  rural  landscape.  The  method  of  farming  which  robbed  the 
soil,  practiced  in  an  earlier  day  was  bad,  but  the  practice  of 
taking  out  of  a  community  the  wealth  which  should  build 
homes,  schools,  and  churches,  to  spend  it  in  villages  and  cities 
will  be  far  more  disastrous,  for  it  robs  the  people  of  opportu- 
nities which  life  should  offer. 


24 


Part  II. 

RURAL  SOCIOLOGY 


Definitions 


Sociology  is  the  science  which  treats  of  the  general  struc- 
ture of  society,  the  laws  of  its  development,  and  the  progress 
of  actual  civilization.  Economics,  treating  of  the  wealth  get- 
ting and  wealth  using  activities  of  man,  is  a  closely  related  but 
a  much  more  limited  subject  than  sociology. 

Rural  Sociology  includes  everything  which  has  to  do  with 
the  social  customs,  habits,  institutions,  thought,  progress  or 
lack  of  progress  in  the  country.  In  a  constructive  sense  rural 
sociology  is  concerned  with  those  forces  which  make  for  the 
betterment  of  country  life — as,  the  improvement  of  the  farm 
home,  the  building  of  better  roads,  the  growth  of  schools  and 
churches,  the  improvement  of  means  of  transportation  and 
communication. 

The  Commission  on  Country  Life.  The  appointment  of 
the  Commission  on  Country  Life  by  President  Roosevelt  in 
1908  marks  the  beginning  of  a  really  serious  consideration  of 
the  farm  life  problem  in  the  United  States.  In  appointing  the 
Commission  President  Roosevelt  said: 

"I  am  therefore  anxious  to  bring  before  the  people  of  the 
United  States  the  question  of  securing  better  business  and  bet- 
ter living  on  the  farm,  whether  by  co-operation  between  far- 
mers for  buying  and  selling  and  borrowing;  by  promoting  so- 
cial advantages  and  opportunities  in  the  country;  or  by  any 
other  legitimate  means  that  will  help  to  make  country  life 
more  gainful,  more  attractive,  and  fuller  of  opportunities, 
pleasures,  and  rewards  for  the  men,  women,  and  children  of 
the  farms." 

Recommendations  of  the  Commission.  The  Commission 
found  that  "agriculture  is  not  commercially  as  profitable  as  it 
is  entitled  to  be  for  the  labor  and  energy  that  the  farmer  ex- 

25 


pends  and  the  risk  that  he  assumes,  and  that  the  social  condi- 
tions in  the  open  country  are  far  short  of  their  possibilities." 
Many  reasons  are  given  for  this  state  of  affairs  and  many  sug- 
gestions for  improvement  made.  Three  fundamental  recom- 
mendations of  the  Commission  are:  (1)  Surveys  should  be 
taken  of  all  the  conditions  that  surround  the  business  of  farm- 
ing and  the  people  who  live  in  the  country  in  order  to  take 
stock  of  our  resources  and  to  supply  the  farmer  with  local 
knowledge.  (2)  Agricultural  extention  work  should  be  made 
national  and  should  reach  every  man  on  the  land.  (3)  Local, 
state,  and  national  conferences  should  be  held  to  unite  the  in- 
terests of  education,  organization,  and  religion  into  one  great 
movement  for  the  rebuilding  of  country  life.  Rural  teachers, 
librarians,  editors,  physicians,  and  others  may  well  unite  with 
farmers  in  studying  and  discussing  the  rural  question  in  all 
its  aspects. 

The  report  made  by  this  Commission  should  be  in  the 
hands  of  every  teacher.  It  caji  be  secured  from  the  Govern- 
ment Printing  Office,  Washington  D.  C.  for  ten  cents,  (not  in 
stamps).  It  gives  in  detail  the  movements  which  are  improv- 
ing farm  life  today  and  also  some  of  its  chief  deficiences  with 
the  suggested  remedies. 

The  Farm  Home 

Advantages.  The  farm  home  occupies  a  unique  position 
in  that  all  the  members  of  the  home  circle  are  interested  in  the 
same  business  which  furnishes  occupation  for  all.  Provided 
there  are  good  school  and  church  advantages  there  is  no  bet- 
ter place  in  which  to  rear  a  family  than  the  country.  Next  to 
the  good  country  home  ranks  the  good  city  home,  while  the 
home  in  small  village  ranks  last.  The  country  village  does  not 
fully  possess  the  virtues  of  the  city  or  of  the  country  while  it 
often  has  many  of  the  vices  of  both.  The  farm  home  has 
many  advantages: 

First.  Country  boys  and  girls  enjoy  an  environment 
which  is  simple  and  natural.  The  field  and  the  wood  and  the 
running  brook  are  theirs.  For  playmates  they  have  animals 
and  learn  lessons  of  kindness  in  caring  for  them. 

26 


Second.  They  have  plenty  of  good  wholesome  work  to 
do  of  a  constructive  nature.  There  is  nothing  of  the  deadly 
monotony  of  factory  work  to  farm  work.  Tasks  on  the  farm 
change  from  day  to  day  and  boys  and  girls  are  compelled  to 
think  about  the  work  they  are  doing  as  well  as  to  work  and 
work  hard. 

It  is  this  ability  to  do  work  and  this  faithfulness  to  the 
task  in  hand  which  has  given  us  in  the  past  the  successful  men 
and  women  which  the  country  has  produced. 

Third.  They  spend  a  large  part  of  the  day  in  close  asso- 
ciation with  their  parents.  The  farmer  takes  his  boy  with 
him  to  the  field  to  work  or  sets  him  at  a  task  which  he  may 
have  begun  himself.  The  mother  teaches  her  girls  the  work 
in  the  home.  In  all  of  this  work  there  is  a  close  relationship 
between  parents  and  children. 

Fourth.  Country  life  affords  opportunity  for  reflection, 
for  time  to  think.  There  is  danger  here  that  unless  education 
gives  men  and  women  something  to  think  about  they  may  be- 
come petty  in  their  thinking. 

Disadvantages  of  the  Farm  Home.  The  farm  home  pos- 
sesses some  disadvantages:  (1)  The  long  hours  of  labor  and 
the  many  tasks  often  leave  little  time  or  inclination  for  enjoy- 
ment or  recreation.  Especially  is  it  true  that  woman's  work 
is  hard.  (2)  The  lack  of  conveniences  causes  needless  drudg- 
ery. Often  the  only  reason  that  water  was  not  piped  into  the 
house  at  the  same  time  that  it  was  piped  to  the  barn  is  that  the 
idea  of  piping  to  the  house  was  lacking.  (3) The  isolation  of 
farm  life  bears  hard,  especially  upon  women.  The  farmer  can 
always  find  an  excuse  to  go  to  town  or  to  see  his  neighbors,but 
his  wife  must  remain  at  home  to  care  for  the  house  and  the 
children.  (4)  Another  serious  disadvantage  of  rural  life  is 
that  the  hired  help  must  be  taken  in  as  members  of  the  farm 
family.  Were  hired  men  what  they  should  be  no  objection 
could  be  raised,  but  with  so  many  shiftless,  vicious,  worthless 
men  employed  as  hired  men  the  danger  of  their  influence  over 
the  children  and  indeed  over  the  farm  family  is  great.  The 
writer  recalls  the  statement  made  by  a  man  himself  country 

27 


born,  who  said :  **I  have  traveled  all  over  Europe  and  America 
and  seen  something  of  vice  and  crime,  but  all  that  I  have  seen 
as  a  man  did  not  affect  me  half  so  much  as  did  the  dirty  stories 
the  hired  man  told  me  on  the  farm  when  I  was  a  boy."  (5) 
The  saloon.  The  Report  of  the  Commission  on  Country  life 
has  this  to  say  about  saloons.  'The  saloon  as  an  institution 
must  be  banished  at  least  from  all  country  districts  and  rural 
towns  if  our  agricultural  interests  are  to  be  developed  to  the 
extent  of  which  they  are  capable".  In  this  connection  it  is  of 
interest  to  note  that  the  measure  for  national  prohibition  had 
the  support  of  more  than  one  half  of  the  members  of  the  Unit- 
ed States  House  of  Representatives  in  1914.  The  Anti-Saloon 
League  makes  the  statement  that  by  1920  no  saloons  will  ex- 
ist in  the  United  States.     At  present  19  states  are  ''dry". 

Improvements  in  the  Farm  Home.  The  first  generation 
is  passing  away.  Their  task  was  no  light  one, — to  conquer 
the  soil,  to  build  fences,  to  drain  swamps,  to  lay  our  roads,  to 
organize  towns,  schools  and  churches.  Life  for  the  pioneer 
was  stern  and  severe  and  in  it  there  was  little  time  and  less 
opportunity  for  comfort,  conveniences  and  luxuries.  The  next 
generation  will  not  have  to  face  the  same  conditions.  For 
them  the  way  has  been  smoothed  and  it  is  likely  that  more  at- 
tention will  be  given  to  the  development  of  better  ways  of  liv- 
ing. The  greatest  convenience  for  the  home  is  hot  and  cold 
water  in  the  house.  Next  to  the  hot  and  cold  water  come  the 
bath  tub  and  the  inside  toilet.  Cleanliness  is  next  to  godliness 
in  the  country  as  well  as  in  the  city,  and  the  work  of  the  farm 
is  often  of  such  a  nature  that  the  bath  tub  would  seem  more  a 
necessity  than  a  luxury.  A  furnace  in  the  basement,  doing 
away  with  carrying  of  ashes  and  wood  and  placing  the  labor  of 
heating  on  the  shoulders  of  the  men  rather  than  the  women,  is 
found  in  the  most  up  to  date  farm  homes.  An  adequate  light- 
ing system  such  as  acetylene  gas  does  away  with  the  labor  of 
caring  for  numerous  lamps  besides  furnishing  a  light  which 
does  not  strain  the  eyes  at  night.  The  gasoline  or  kerosene 
stove  for  summer  cooking  is  a  great  convenience  during  the 
hot  months,  and  is  in  quite  common  use,  while  the  laundry  in 
the  basement  though  a  great  convenience  is  as  yet  rather  an 

28 


unusual  luxury  and  marks  only  the  most  advanced  homes.  No 
one  convenience  does  more  for  the  comfort  of  the  family  than 
the  ice  house  and  refrigerator.  It  is  not  a  lack  of  money  that 
has  stood  in  the  way  of  more  comfortable  farm  homes  but 
rather  a  lack  of  ideas.  In  building  the  farm  home,  as  in  build- 
ing the  country  school  house,  the  farmer  has  followed  a  cus- 
tomary plan  and  the  individuals  fit  themselves  to  the  house  in- 
stead of  having  the  house  fitted  to  the  individuals.  Mail  or- 
der houses  with  their  plans  for  country  homes  and  the  numer- 
ous firms  now  selHng  supplies  for  plumbing,  lighting,  and  heat- 
ing are  doing  much  to  improve  conditions.  One  of  the  best 
things  which  a  rural  school  could  do  would  be  to  make  a  col- 
lection of  material  on  the  planning  and  equipment  of  homes. 

A  few  simple  lessons  in  sanitation  should  be  taught  in 
every  country  school : 

1.  That  bad  water  is  dangerous;  hence  the  well  should 
not  be  so  located  as  to  receive  the  drainage  from  the  barnyard. 
Particularly  dangerous  is  the  open  or  dug  well  if  great  care  is 
not  exercised  to  keep  it  scrupulously  clean, 

2.  That  fresh  air  never  hurt  anyone.  Cold  air  is  not  nec- 
essarily fresh  air.  The  sufferer  from  tuberculosis  is  made  to 
sleep  in  the  open  air  to  cure  a  disease  which  he  has  often  con- 
tracted by  living  in  rooms  where  fresh  pure  air  was  lacking. 
Children  should  be  taught  that  headaches,  colorless  faces,  list- 
lessness  are  the  results  of  sleeping  in  tightly  closed  rooms  and 
that  sleeping  room  windows  should  be  open. 

3.  That  sunlight  kills  more  germs  than  all  of  the  doctors 
in  the  world ;  hance  the  rooms  should  be  thrown  open  and  the 
sunlight  let  in. 

4.  That  good  food  is  necessary  to  sustain  health  and  that 
we  should  take  time  to  eat.  The  opposition  to  the  teaching 
of  domestic  science  in  rural  schools  on  the  ground  that  the  pa- 
trons of  the  school  know  how  to  cook  is  absurd  in  the  extreme. 
Rural  people  are  neither  better  nor  worse  cooks  than  urban 
people,  yet  cooking  is  taught  in  city  schoola. 

5.  That  the  open  privy  of  the  country  school  and  the  coun- 
try home  is  an  ever  present  menance  to  health.     In  winter  it 

29 


is  cold ;  often  it  is  unclean ;  and  in  summer  it  gives  rise  to  bad 
odors. 

6.  That  the  fly  is  the  agent  of  disease  and  death.  The 
following,  taken  from  a  lecture  by  the  International  Harvest- 
er Company,  is  not  pleasant  but  it  is  profitable  reading : 

"FHes  are  the  filthiest  of  all  insects.  Watch  the  fly  as  it 
is  born  on  the  manure  heap.  See  it  walk  over  the  slop  and  gar- 
bage, wallow  in  the  disease-laden  privy  vault,  batjie  in  the  con- 
sumptive's cuspidor,  and  then  wing  its  blithesome  way  to  the 
house.  Follow  it  through  unscreened  window  or  door  and  no- 
tice it  cleaning  its  filthy  body  in  the  milk  pitcher,  dropping 
its  specks  on  the  baby's  lips,  or  gathering  with  its  compan- 
ions on  the  nipple  of  the  child's  nursing  bottle.  Fresh  from 
the  act  of  eating  the  disgusting  filth,  how  often  has  it  crawled 
over  your  face,  drinking  the  perspiration  and  irritating  you 
with  its  persistent,  hateful,  soft  touch  ? 

The  fly  that  creeps  over  the  face  of  a  tubercular  patient  in 
the  palatial  home,  in  the  cottage,  or  hospital,  may  deposit  a 
deadly  germ  on  the  lips  of  a  healthy  person  in  your  house, 
marking  another  victim  for  the  great  white  plague. 

"You  are  ashamed  to  tolerate  a  bedbug  or  a  body  louse. 
One  fly  is  more  loathsome  and  dangerous  than  a  hundred  bed- 
bugs or  body  lice." 

How  to  Get  Rid  of  Flies.  Get  rid  of  the  breeding  places 
by  cleaning  manure  daily  from  the  barn  and  sheds.  Keep  the 
pig  pen  dry  and  clean.  Keep  garbage  covered.  Make  the 
privy  fly-proof.  Kill  the  breeders  by  killing  all  the  winter 
flies  by  putting  fly  traps  all  over  the  place  in  April.  Keep 
everlastingly  at  it  until  the  fly  is  no  more. 

The  Country  Church 

Status  of  Rural  Church.  The  results  of  the  various  sur- 
veys which  have  been  made  of  rural  churches  in  the  United 
States  seem  to  indicate  that  the  country  church  is  dying. 
Like  the  school,  the  church  is  suffering  from  conditions  which 
have  long  existed.  There  are  too  many  rather  than  too  few 
rural  churches.     Often  in  a  small  village  one  finds  five,  six,  or 

30 


even  seven  churches  of  various  denominations.  Where  there 
are  so  many  denominations  all  must  lack  good  financial  sup- 
port. The  strength  of  the  Catholic  church  in  rural  communi- 
ties 4ies  in  the  fact  that  it  has  not  been  split  up  into  many 
denominations  as  has  the  Protestant  church.  The  country 
church,  like  the  school  suffers  from  a  lack  of  leadership.  That 
anyone  would  do  for  a  country  preacher  as  anyone  would  do 
for  a  country  teacher  has  been  the  attitude  not  only  of  the 
country  but  also  of  the  city  community.  The  country  as  a  re- 
sult, has  been  the  training  ground  for  the  callow  boy  who  was 
learning  how  to  preach  or  how  not  to  preach ;  it  has  also  been 
the  resting  place  for  the  old,  worn  servant  of  the  church  who 
after  a  long  life  of  service  has  to  take  a  rural  charge  for  the 
rest  of  his  days. 

These  older  men  have  done  much  efficient  work  for  coun- 
try parishes,  but  the  great  need  of  the  country  is  the  service 
of  men  in  the  prime  of  life  who  have  been  trained  for  rural 
work  and  who  devote  their  entire  energies  to  the  development 
of  better  country  life. 

Whether  or  not  the  young  people  who  leave  the  country  to 
go  to  the  cities  will  have  the  church  going  habit  will  largely  de- 
pend upon  the  development  of  better  rural  church  conditions. 

Movements  for  the  Betterment  of  Rural  Churches 

(1)  An  effort  is  being  made  to  federate  the  rural  Pro- 
testant churches  and  to  establish  in  the  place  of  a  denomina- 
tional church  a  community  church.  (2)  Men  who  are  to  take 
country  charges  are  being  trained  in  the  social  and  economic 
problems  of  rural  communities  in  order  that  they  may  be  in 
sympathy  with  country  life.  (3)  In  some  places  the  church 
is  assuming  the  task  of  furnishing  clean  and  wholesome  re- 
creation and  amusement  for  both  young  people  and  old. 

The  Country  School 

In  his  introduction  to  the  Report  of  the  Committee  of 
Fifteen  on  Rural  Schools,  State  Superintendent  C.  P.  Cary,  of 
Wisconsin,  admirably  sums  up  the  problem  of  the  country 
school.     He  says: 

31 


"With  many  noteworthy  exceptions,  it  may  be  said  that  in 
a  given  school  district  there  are  too  many  people  who  support 
the  school  in  their  community  in  a  half-hearted  way.  They  do 
not  appreciate  as  fully  as  they  should  what  it  costs  in  time, 
money,  effort,  and  good  will  to  make  the  school  of  vital  signifi- 
cance in  life  of  the  community. 

"In  such  districts  there  are  usually  a  few  who  greatly  de- 
sire to  improve  the  local  school,  but  they  meet  with  so  many 
discouragements,  and  are  so  frequently  outvoted  in  their 
efforts  to  bring  the  school  to  the  higher  level  that  they  often 
weary  in  well  doing." 

The  improvement  which  is  being  rapidly  made  in  the  rural 
schools  of  Wisconsin  shows  that  the  patrons  of  the  schools  as 
well  as  school  men  are  dissatisfied  with  the  present  condition 
of  the  schools.  The  rural  school  was  created  at  a  time  when 
the  roads  were  bad  and  the  means  of  transportation  poor.  The 
school  of  that  day  necessarily  served  a  small  number  people  in 
order  that  it  be  accessible  to  the  children ;  but  with  the  develop- 
ment of  the  farms,  the  roads,  and  means  of  transportation, 
there  has  come  a  demand  on  the  part  of  country  people  for 
schools  which  will  more  adequately  meet  the  needs  of  present 
day  conditions.  Especially  urgent  is  the  demand  for  high 
school  advantages  for  country  children.  This  demand  will  pro- 
bably be  met  in  two  ways :  first,  by  improving  some  of  the 
rural  schools  as  they  now  are;  second,  by  the  consolidation 
of  the  smaller  and  weaker  schools.  In  the  consolidated  school 
it  is  probable  the  high  school  will  be  established. 

Ways  of  Improving  the  Country  School 

More  Money.  The  country  school  lacks  financial  sup- 
port. This  is  due  in  part  to  the  low  value  of  farm  property 
and  in  part  to  a  low  rate  of  taxation  in  rural  districts 
for  school  purposes.  More  money  is  needed  to  maintain  the 
rural  schools,  and  to  provide  high  school  advantages  for  all 
the  boys  and  girls  of  the  community.  The  time  is  not  far  dis- 
tant when  the  people  of  rural  communities  instead  of  spending 
their  money  to  send  their  children  away  to  the  cities  to  school 
will  develop  the  spirit  of  cooperation  to  such  an  extent  that  a 
rural  high  school  will  stand  in  every  rural  community. 

32 


Better  Organization.  By  better  orgajnization  is  meant  a 
plan  that  will  give  us  better  teachers,  better  buildings  and 
equipment,  and  a  course  of  study  suited  to  the  needs  of  country 
children.  In  the  training  of  young  men  and  young  women  of 
native  ability  and  culture  for  service  as  rural  teachers  all  states 
are  facing  a  serious  task — a  task  which  no  state  has  yet  under- 
taken with  entire  success.  The  course  of  study  should  have 
a  vital  relation  to  the  life  of  the  community.  The  chief  bus- 
iness of  rural  communities  is  agriculture;  hence  agriculture 
should  be  the  basis  of  a  large  part  of  the  school  work.  Les- 
sons in  geography,  language,  reading,  etc.,  can  be  made  to  bear 
directly  on  the  life  of  the  community. 

Better  Supervision.  The  country  school  s.uffers  from 
lack  of  supervision.  However  earnest  and  painstaking  a  coun- 
ty superintendent  may  be  it  is  a  physical  impossibility  for  him 
to  supervise  the  schools  in  such  a  way  that  the  maximum  of 
efficiency  may  be  secured.  Assistant  county  superintendents 
would  be  a  saving  to  the  tax  payers,  for  additional  supervision 
would  mean  the  elimination  of  waste  of  time  and  effort  on  the 
part  of  two  or  three  hundred  teachers  now  under  the  control  of 
one  county  superintendent. 

Advantages  of  Consolidation 

1.  It  provides  a  way  by  which  rural  communities  may  ed- 
ucate their  children  at  less  cost  per  capita.     It  saves  expense. 

2.  It  makes  a  high  school  education  for  every  boy  and 
girl  possible  without  going  away  from  home. 

3.  It  enables  rural  communities  to  secure  the  best  of 
trained  teachers  for  their  schools  and  to  keep  those  teachers 
when  they  have  proved  their  worth. 

4.  It  increases  the  enrollment  in  the  schools  and  creates 
renewed  interest.  The  school  with  bnt  a  few  children  enroll- 
ed is  not  and  can  not  well  be  the  center  of  neighborhood  in- 
terest. 

5.  It  provides  a  center  for  social  gatherings,  for  in  the 
consohdated  school  it  is  possible  to  have  an  assembly  room 

33 


large  enough  to  accommodate  the  people  for  lectures  and  in- 
tertainments. 

6.  It  does  much  to  enlarge  the  spiritual  horizon  of 
boys  and  girls  who  attend  these  schools.  The  fact  that  a  large 
number  of  children  are  enrolled  is  a  great  advantage,  for  it 
makes  it  possible  to  create  a  school  and  community  spirit. 

7.  It  will  keep  the  money,  which  is  now  being  spent  away 
from  home  for  educational  purposes,  at  home  to  develop  local 
schools. 

What  Boys  and  Girls  Think  of  Consolidation.  Often  in 
our  discussions  of  problems  of  rural  education  we  lose  sight 
of  the  most  fundamental  question, — how  does  the  school  ap- 
pear to  the  country  boy  and  the  country  girl.  Useless  it  is  to 
talk  of  developing  the  one  room  schools  when  boys  and  girls 
leave  them  at  the  fifth  or  even  the  fourth  grade  and  when,  af- 
ter having  attended  for  perhaps  the  full  eight  years  they  leave 
the  school. unable  to  spell,  read,  or  write  an  ordinary  letter. 
One  of  the  chief  points  in  favor  of  consolidation  is  that  school 
makes  an  appeal  to  boys  and  girls.  They  are  proud  of  their 
schools,  as  may  be  seen  from  extracts  from  letters  written  by 
the  pupils  enrolled  in  consolidated  schools  in  Randolph  county, 
Indiana.  Few  counties  in  the  United  States  have  more  rea- 
son to  be  proud  of  their  schools.  Nowhere  has  consolidation 
made  more  real  progress,  due  to  the  untiring  zeal  of  County 
Superintendent  Lee  L.  Driver  of  Winchester,  Indiana. 

Extracts  From  the  Letters  on  Consolidation:  The  boys 
and  girls  of  Randolph  county  were  asked  to  express  their  opin- 
ion of  consolidation  in  letters  to  the  author.  Not  one  unfavor- 
able reply  was  found  in  the  many  letters  received. 

"The  consolidated  schools  are  the  best  thing  a  county  can 
have  because  in  these  schools  the  teachers  have  more  time  to 
spend  with  the  pupils",  writes  one  high  school  pupil.  **No 
one  who  has  not  attended  a  consolidated  high  school  can  fully 
grasp  the  advantages  offered  by  such  a  school,"  writes  another 
Would  that  every  one  might  read  the  touching  statement  of  a 
high  school  girl  who  says  simply,  **If  it  had  not  been  for  the.^e 
schools  I  would  not  have  had  a  high  school  education."     "The 

34 


industrial  work  in  the  grades  and  the  high  school  is  great  work 
for  the  farmer  boy  or  girl",  adds  another,  while  an  enthusias- 
tic believer  in  consolidation  underscores  each  word  in  his  sen- 
tence, "I  am  strictly  in  favor  of  the  consolidated  school".  The 
keynote  of  consolidation  is  sounded  by  one  writer  who  says, 
"You  enjoy  going  to  a  large  school  more  than  you  do  a  small 
school."  A  girl  who  wishes  to  make  her  statement  emphatic 
says,  ''Any  human  being  knows  that  a  teacher  can  not  teach 
eight  grades  and  do  justice  to  each  grade".  "My  mother  was 
saying  just  the  other  day  that  we  were  chums  now  with  girls 
we  would  not  have  known  had  we  not  been  going  to  this  (a  con- 
solidated) school",  writes  a  young  lady  whose  letter  shows 
that  she  has  already  learned  to  think.  Whether  consolidation 
will  remain  is  answered  by  the  expression  found  in  regard  to 
cost;  "These  schools  cost  money  and  they  cost  something  to 
run,  but  what  is  a  few  dollars  compared  to  the  education  of 
the  children  of  the  United  States."     "I  am  a  member  of  the 

High  School.     I  am  proud  of  it",  may  well  be  a  fitting 

close  to  the  testimony  of  boys  and  girls  in  regard  to  consoli- 
dation. 

The  School  as  a  Social  Center.  The  purposes  of  the  move- 
ment to  revive  the  school  as  a  social  center  may  be  briefly  stat- 
ed as  follows: 

First.  To  get  parents  interested  in  school  work  and  in  the 
betterment  of  rural  schools. 

Second.  To  further  the  spirit  of  cooperation  by  organiz- 
ing the  people  to  promote  some  movement  for  community  bet- 
terment. 

Third.     To  provide  recreation  and  amusement. 

The  meetings  which  may  be  held  are  of  various  kinds ;  as, 
for  example,  the  school  program  held  in  the  afternoon  or  even- 
ing ;  programs  in  which  the  older  people  and  the  children  take 
part;  farmers'  clubs  and  farmers'  institutes,  at  the  meetings 
of  which  topics  of  local  interest  may  be  discussed,  and  often 
the  children  of  the  school  may  take  part ;  special  day  programs, 
such  as  arbor  day,  Washington's  birthday,  etc.;  school  fairs 

35 


in  which  the  products  of  the  community  are  exhibited  and 
prizes  given,  and  at  which  a  short  program  is  usually  given  by 
the  children.  Often  a  speaker  from  outside  is  secured  to  talk 
on  some  subject  of  interest  to  the  community. 

A  few  general  suggestions  will  be  of  service  to  the  inex- 
perienced teacher.  (1)  Secure  the  consent  of  the  school  board 
before  attempting  any  public  program.  (2)  Do  not  attempt 
too  much  at  first  or  have  the  program  too  long.  Have  the  sup- 
port of  public  opinion  in  what  you  are  trying  to  do.  (3)  Pay 
attention  to  the  details.  Plan  everything  carefully  so  that 
each  child  is  given  a  part,  however  small,  and  so  that  there  is 
no  confusion.  (4)  Have  a  definite  purpose  in  mind.  Make 
the  program  of  real  benefit  to  the  children  by  seeing  to  it  that 
they  speak  and  sing  in  the  best  possible  manner.  Choose 
songs  and  recitations  that  are  worth  while,  omitting  trashy 
worthless  selections.  (5)  Introduce  some  of  the  regular  work 
of  the  school,  but  be  careful  that  it  is  not  tedious  and  that 
what  is  attempted  is  well  done.  As  examples  of  what  may  be 
done,  pupils  may  show  how  to  test  corn,  explain  the  Babcock 
test,  tell  the  useful  birds  and  explain  how  we  may  increase  the 
number,  give  an  exercise  in  reading,  recite  poems  that  they 
have  studied  in  language,  read  compositions  on  interesting 
subjects,  etc.  (6)  In  the  choice  of  speakers  from  the  outside 
select  the  man  or  woman  who  has  something  to  say  which  will 
be  of  interest  and  real  value  to  the  people.  Ask  him  to  talk 
then  of  the  subject  with  which  he  is  familiar.  Get  local  peo- 
ple to  take  part. 

State  Superintendent  Gary's  Report  on  Progress.  That 
progress  is  being  made  in  rural  schools  is  shown  by  the  report 
of  State  Superintendent  Gary  of  Wisconsin.     Mr.  Gary  writes: 

"Great  changes  for  the  better  have  taken  place  in  country 
education  in  the  past  ten  years.  Hundreds  of  districts — near- 
ly five  out  of  every  six  the  state  over  as  a  matter  of  fact — 
have  provided  ventilation  by  means  of  ventilating  stoves.  They 
have  put  the  out-buildings  into  decent  shape ;  they  have  added 
supplementary  readers,  maps,  blackboards ;  they  have  increas- 
ed the  number  of  books  in  their  libraries  by  200%  ;  and  have 
furnished  cases  and  card  catalogues  for  them;  they  have  in- 

36 


creased  the  expenditure  of  money  per  child  enrolled  by  100% 
they  have  increased  the  school  year  from  seven  months  to 
eight;  they  have  increased  the  annual  compulsory  period  for 
each  child  by  100%  ;  they  have  added  agriculture  to  the  school 
course  as  prescribed  by  law;  they  have  increased  the  number 
of  county  training  schools  from  three  to  twenty-seven,  and  in- 
creased the  course  of  training  100%  in  point  of  time.  High 
schools  have  awakened  and  are  vying  with  the  county  train- 
ing schools,  as  are  also  the  state  >normals,  in  the  training  of 
country  teachers. 

^'School  board  members  by  thousands  in  the  aggregate 
have  come  out  every  year  for  the  past  eight  years  to  school 
board  conventions,  and  their  interest  constantly  increases. 
There  are  more  calls  for  good  teachers,  more  evening  programs 
in  which  adults  take  part,  more  demand  for  work  in  the  school 
relating  to  life  on  the  farm  than  ever  before." 

Other  Rural  Social  Problems 

The  Drift  to  the  Cities.  Causes:  The  causes  for  the 
drift  of  the  rural  population  to  the  cities  may  be  classified  un- 
der two  heads:  economic  and  social. 

The  economic  causes  are:  (l)The  uncertainty  of  return 
for  land  labor  and  capital  invested.  Farmers  feel,  and  rightly, 
that  there  is  more  risk  in  farming  than  in  other  lines  of  work ; 
(2)  The  increased  use  of  machinery  which  has  lessened  the  de- 
mand for  farm  labor.  (3)  The  long  hours  of  labor  and  the  ir- 
regularity of  these  hours,  a  fruitful  cause  of  economic  discon- 
tent. (4)  The  amount  of  capital  needed  now  to  carry  on  pro- 
perly the  business  of  farming.  (5)  The  sudden  acquisition  of 
large  fortunes  by  city  men,  bringing  unrest  to  younger  men 
on  the  farms. 

The  chief  social  influences  which  have  been  at  work  are: 
(1)  The  isolation  of  life  on  the  farm.  By  this  is  meant  not  on- 
ly the  fact  that  houses  are  far  apart,  the  physical  fact,  but  al- 
so the  feeling  of  being  cut  off  from  the  life  of  the  world,  the 
mental  fact.  This  isolation  has  apparently  given  rise  to  a  spir- 
it of  conservatism,  a  tendency  to  follow  along  the  old  paths 
rather  than  to  strike  out  new  ones  on  the  part  of  country  peo- 

37 


pie,  and  often  has  tended  to  foster  petty  jealousies.  It  has  al- 
so made  the  country  rich  in  moral  strength  and  purpose.  Men 
who  are  advocating  honest  reforms  feel  that  country  people 
will  support  them  if  the  questions  are  rightly  understood. 
(2)  The  acknowledgment  on  the  part  of  many  country  people 
that  life  in  the  cities  is  more  to  be  desired  than  life  in  the  op- 
en country.  (3)  The  example  of  others  who  leave  the  country, 
especially  of  the  older  men  and  women  who  go  to  t6wn  to  live. 
(4)  The  influence  of  history.  As  early  as  the  fourteenth  cen- 
tury complaints  were  made  in  England,  France  and  Germany 
that  the  country  was  being  depopulated.  The  growth  of  the 
American  cities  during  the  past  fifty  years  has  had  its  effect 
on  the  rural  population.  (5)  The  lack  of  opportunities  for 
amusement  and  recreation  in  the  country  districts.  The 
means  for  amusement  and  recreation  in  this  country  are  be- 
coming business  enterprises  and  though  often  cheap  and 
worthless  the  effect  has  been  to  drive  out  forms  of  local 
amusement.  (6)  The  influence  of  our  public  school  system  in 
the  country.  Country  boys  and  girls  have  heard  little  about 
the  country  even  in  their  own  schools.  The  city  schools  to 
which  country  boys  and  country  girls  have  been  sent  have 
tended  to  draw  them  from  the  farm.  Country  people  move  to 
town  to  educate  their  boys  and  girls. 

Remedies.  Among  the  influences  already  at  work  to 
check  this  drift  to  the  cities  the  following  are  of  chief  impor- 
tance : 

(1)  The  development  of  scientific  farming,  which  is  giv- 
ing the  farmer  a  larger  and  more  certain  return,  developing 
the  spirit  of  business  enterprise,  and  showing  the  younger 
people  that  farming  is  a  business  which  calls  for  brains  as 
well  as  brawn. 

(2)  The  wider  use  of  labor  saving  machinery  and  the 
regulation  of  the  hours  of  labor,  which  are  lessening  the  drudg- 
ery of  the  farm  and  making  it  more  and  more  true  that  labor 
on  the  farm  must  be  skilled. 

(3)  The  awakened  interest  in  country  life,  which  is  bring- 
ing to  the  farmer  greater  social  recognition  and  more  oppor- 

38 


tunities  for  a  life  of  distinguished  service.  The  University  of 
Wisconsin  some  time  ago  conferred  rewards  of  merit  upon 
several  men  who  had  distinguished  themselves  by  service  to 
rural  communities,  upon  one  man  for  example  who  had  im- 
proved the  grade  of  stock  in  a  certain  county. 

(4)  The  possibility  of  a  larger  amount  of  daily  happiness 
upon  the  farms  through  the  development  of  better  homes,  bet- 
ter schools,  better  churches,  better  means  of  communication. 

Problems  of  Organization.  There  are  in  the  main  three 
purposes  underlying  all  rural  organizations,  economic,  educa- 
tional and  social.  Economic  organizations  aim  to  improve  in- 
dustrial conditions  on  the  farms;  educational  organizations 
tend  to  improve  the  standards  of  life  and  thought;  social  or- 
ganizations to  creat  more  fellowship  and  to  provide  recreation 
and  amusement. 

Some  Typical  Organizations.  Chief  among  the  organiza- 
tions found  in  rural  communities  are  the  Grange,  the  Society 
of  Equity,  the  Farmers'  Union,  Farmers'  Clubs,  Stockbreed- 
ers' associations,  Local  Improvement  Associations,  Woman's 
Clubs,  Boys'  and  Girls'  Clubs,  Christian  Associations,  Farmers' 
Institutes,  School  Patrons  Clubs,  Lecture  Course  societies, 
and  others. 

The  Grange,  which  may  be  taken  as  an  example,  is  one  of 
the  most  powerful  of  rural  organizations.  It  was  started  in 
1867  and  now  has  more  than  a  million  members  scattered 
through  thirty  states.  It  aims  to  develop  a  higher  and  better 
manhood  and  womanhood,  to  advance  agriculture,  to  encour- 
age agricultural  education,  and  to  inculcate  a  proper  appre- 
ciation of  the  abilities  and  sphere  of  woman,  and  to  promote 
the  general  welfare  of  rural  communities.  The  unit  of  or- 
ganization is  the  local  grange,  meeting  once  or  twice  a  month 
with  programs  looking  to  the  advancement  of  country  life. 
The  local  Granges  are  united  into  a  county  grange,  the  county 
granges  into  a  state  Grange,  and  the  state  Granges  into  a  na- 
tional Grange.  The  Grange  is  unique  in  the  equality  given 
women  in  its  membership,  staff  of  officers,  and  business. 

39 


stockbreeders'  Associations  are  organized  to  improve  the 
breed  of  cattle  and  horses ;  but  they  serve  also  as  a  means  of 
education  to  the  farmer,  giving  him  renewed  interest  in  farm- 
ing and  a  different  point  of  view. 

Organizations  of  Women  are  often  among  the  most  effec- 
tive in  improving  conditions  making  for  better  homes  and 
schools. 

One  of  the  chief  educational  organizations  is  the  farmers' 
institute.  The  institute  is  a  one,  two,  or  three  day  school  for 
farmers  and  farmers'  wives,  maintained  and  organized  usual- 
ly by  some  state  agency, — the  agricultural  college,  experiment 
station,  or  state  department  of  agriculture.  About  8,000  far- 
mers institutes  were  held  in  the  United  States  in  1913  with  a 
total  attendance  of  nearly  three  million.  In  the  institutes 
problems  related  to  the  farm,  the  home,  and  the  school  are  tak- 
en up  and  discussed  by  local  people  and  by  paid  lecturers. 

Boys'  and  Girls'  Clubs.  One  of  the  most  successful  move- 
ments to  interest  young  people  in  farm  life  has  been  the  or- 
ganizations of  boys'  and  girls'  clubs.  These  clubs  have  vari- 
ous aims  depending  upon  local  conditions.  The  corn  club  may 
be  taken  as  an  example.  The  boys  and  sometimes  the  girls  of 
a  community  are  interested  in  the  production  of  better  corn 
and  organized  into  clubs  the  members  of  which  are  to  plant  a 
small  piece  of  corn,  carefully  selecting  the  seed  and  following 
directions  as  to  the  manner  of  cultivation.  Prizes  are  given 
to  the  one  who  produces  the  best  corn  or  the  largest  yield. 
The  advantages  of  these  clubs  may  be  summarized  as  follows : 

1.  To  teach  the  principles  of  agriculture  in  a  practical 
manner. 

2.  To  teach  facts  of  the  soil  and  of  plant  life  and  show 
communities  the  value  of  their  land. 

3.  To  dignify  labor  and  make  it  intelligent  and  effective. 

4.  To  give  purpose  and  direction  to  youthful  lives  at  the 
opportune  time. 

5.  To  impress  the  value  of  individual  ownership  and  earn- 
ing. 

6.  To  help  the  family  by  having  all  of  its  members  con- 
tribute to  its  support. 

40 


7.  To  show  the  value  of  healthy  rivalry  and  cooperation 
in  producing  and  marketing  crops. 

8.  To  train  farm  managers  and  home  makers. 

9.  To  vitalize  school  work. 

10.     To  develop  manhood  and  womanhood. 

Rural  Social  Surveys.  The  first  recommendation  of  the 
Commission  on  Country  Life  was  that  surveys  should  be  tak- 
en of  rural  communities.  In  order  to  get  the  most  out  of  a 
survey  we  must  know  definitely  what  information  we  desire, 
the  best  means  of  securing  it,  and  we  must  be  open  minded, 
that  is,  we  must  not  be  trying  to  prove  ideas  which  we  already 
have.  The  principal  kinds  of  survey  are  (1)  the  farm  survey, 
setting  forth  business  conditions  and  methods  of  farming, 

(2)  the  rural  school  survey,  testing  the  efficiency  of  the  schools 

(3)  the  rural  church  survey,  (4)  soil  surveys,  (5)  general  so- 
cial surveys.  An  interesting  bulletin  entitled  "Social  Surveys 
of  Rural  School  Districts"  has  been  prepared  by  C.  J.  Galpin  of 
the  University  of  Wisconsin  and  County  Superintendent  George 
W.  Davies  of  Sauk  county,  Wisconsin.  This  bulletin  may  be 
had  on  application  to  the  University  of  Wisconsin  and  should 
be  in  the  hands  of  every  teacher.  The  general  plan  of  the  sur- 
vey as  outlined  is  as  follows.  The  survey  is  made  by  the  teach- 
er and  the  pupils.  The  facts  collected  are  those  which  bear  on 
the  history  of  the  district,  those  which  relate  to  farm  progress, 
those  which  relate  to  the  manufacturing  interests  of  the  com- 
munity, as  mills,  shops,  factories,  etc.,  facts  relating  to  so- 
cial development,  facts  relating  to  local  government.  An 
accurate  record  is  kept  of  the  information  and  later 
it  is  reduced  to  maps  of  which  many  kinds  may  be 
made  to  set  forth  the  facts  learned.  Thus  we  may  have  a 
cow  map,  sheep,  swine,  and  poultry  maps,  to  show  the  number 
of  each  in  the  district,  maps  to  show  the  number  of  acres  of 
corn,  silos,  creameries,  cheese  factories,  soils,  home  improve- 
ments, etc.  These  surveys  give  not  only  the  teacher  and  chil- 
dren a  better  knowledge  of  the  neighborhood  in  which  they 
live  but  also  the  fathers  and  mothers.  Such  surveys  connect 
subjects  such  as  civics,  geography,  history,  arithmetic  now 

41 


taught  in  the  schools  with  the  practical  affairs  of  life,  arousing 
the  children's  interest  and  enthusiasm. 

Other  Important  Agencies  for  Advancement 

Libraries.  The  libraries  in  the  school  houses  and  those 
sent  out  by  the  public  libraries  located  in  the  state  are  helpful 
agencies  for  good. 

Telephones.  The  telephone  is  not  only  a  social  but  also 
an  economic  convenience.  Economically  it  often  saves  the  time 
of  the  farmer  in  ordering  and  in  communicating  with  his 
neighbors  and  friends.  Socially  it  is  widening  the  vision  of 
the  people  who  live  in  the  country.  It  makes  them  belong  to 
a  larger  group  and  thus  gives  broader  ideals. 

Rural  Delivery.  The  rural  delivery  is  now  an  accepted 
feature  of  country  life.  By  means  of  the  daily  mail  service 
the  farmer  and  his  family  are  kept  in  touch  with  the  news  of 
the  world.  It  has  a  great  economic  value  too  as  the  farmer  is 
enabled  by  means  of  the  daily  paper  to  keep  in  touch  with 
market  quotations.  There  is  still  a  dearth  of  magazines  and 
books  devoted  to  the  interests  of  rural  people.  The  agricul- 
tural press  has  a  larger  field  of  usefulness  before  it. 

Roads.  One  of  the  most  serious  drawbacks  of  country 
life  is  the  condition  of  the  roads.  Bad  roads  are  responsible 
for  much  of  the  isolation  of  country  life.  The  school  in  the 
country  has  lagged  behind  because  better  schools,  especially 
the  consolidated  schools,  depend  upon  good  roads.  A  few  les- 
sons in  regard  to  roads  should  be  taught  in  every  country 
school.  (1)  The  lesson  that  we  do  not  live  for  ourselves  alone 
nor  for  the  immediate  present  but  that  we  have  duties  towards 
others  and  responsibilities  to  the  future  and  that  chief  among 
the  duties  which  confront  us  in  the  country  is  that  of  provid- 
ing better  roads.  (2)  Children  should  be  trained  to  see  that  a 
tax  for  a  road  is  an  investment  by  the  community  for  the  good 
of  all.  (3)  It  should  be  shown  that  good  roads  increase  the 
value  of  farm  property.  (4)  The  relation  between  good  roads, 
good  schools,  churches,  and  general  community  progress 
should  be  clearly  pointed  out.     (5)  Studies  should  be  made  of 

42 


the  roads  in  the  neighborhood,  the  number  of  miles  of  good 
roads  and  something  of  the  method  of  good  road  construction. 
(6)  Pupils  in  rural  schools  should  be  trained  to  see  that  good 
roads  save  time,  money,  wagons,  harness,  and  horseflesh  as 
well  as  the  temper  of  the  driver.  Larger  loads  can  be  hauled 
over  good  roads ;  hence  the  cost  of  delivery  is  cut  down.  (7) 
Good  roads  attract  those  who  are  looking  for  farms  to  buy. 
One  of  the  greatest  benefits  resulting  from  free  delivery  of 
mail  is  that  the  government  has  insisted  upon  certain  road 
improvements. 

Rural  Electric  Lines.  The  growth  of  rural  electric  lines 
in  the  United  States  is  tending  to  bring  city  and  country  clos- 
er together.  Thus  far  one  of  the  most  far  reaching  effects  has 
been  the  tendency  of  the  electric  lines  to  develop  village  or 
suburban  life  and  to  make  the  village  a  stronger  connecting 
link  between  city  and  country  life.  Electric  lines  add  to  the 
value  of  farm  property,  lessen  isolation  and  foster  particular 
farm  occupations,  such  as  dairying,  etc.,  in  that  they  facili- 
tate delivery. 

Pictures.  To  many,  pictures  speak  in  a  plainer  tongue 
than  books,  yet  to  many  people  in  both  city  and  country  the 
companionship  of  good  pictures  is  unknown.  It  is  no  longer 
necessary  to  have  money  in  order  to  possess  copies  of  the  works 
of  great  artists  for  there  are  several  firms,  such  as  the  Perry 
Picture  Co.,  which  put  out  good  prints  of  the  truly  great  and 
beautiful  pictures  for  a  few  cents  each.  Every  farm  home  can 
have  these  upon  its  walls.  From  some  libraries  traveling  ex- 
hibits are  sent  out  in  the  same  way  that  the  traveling  librar- 
ies of  books  are  sent.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  this  movement 
will  be  extended. 

Magazines.  The  increasing  number  of  good  magazines 
which  are  issued  at  a  relatively  low  cost  makes  it  possible  for 
each  home  to  have  at  least  one  or  two.  These  bring  each 
month  new  lines  of  thought  and  are  another  valuable  agency 
for  keeping  the  isolated  home  in  touch  with  the  outside  world. 

Recreation.  Probably  nothing  has  been  more  neglected 
in  the  life  of  the  American  farmer  than  play.     Today  there  is 

43 


a  revival  of  play.  In  European  countries  we  find  that  in  near- 
ly all  rural  communities  there  are  forms  of  play  peculiar  to 
those  communities.  Folk  dancing,  games,  and  contests  are 
common  at  their  ''play  festivals"  and  in  them  all  the  people  of 
the  community  take  part.  In  America  there  has  been  danger 
of  letting  all  our  play  become  commercialized.  The  moving  pic- 
ture show  is  a  type  of  this  commercialized  recreation.  The 
county  fair  of  today  has  degenerated  because  it  became  com- 
mercialized. Especially  in  rural  communities  is  needed  a  strong 
movement  toward  wholesome  recreation.  In  some  sections  of 
the  United  States  strides  are  being  made  through  musical  or- 
ganizations, where  people  get  together  to  sing.  As  the  ac- 
quaintance with  good  music  increases,  the  moral  tone  of  all 
social  life  is  raised.  In  other  places  drama  is  being  studied 
and  given.  The  present  interest  in  old  fashioned  dances  and 
"folk"  dances  is  doing  much  to  bring  a  change  into  the  country 
dance,  which  is  being  restored  to  the  really  social  play  of  the 
old  colonial  times  in  which  young  and  old  participated.  Re- 
creation or  play  should  express  the  best  there  is  in  country 
life.  It  should  be  produced  by  the  people  and  express  their 
thought.  It  is  through  such  recreation  that  mind  and  body 
is  kept  youthful. 

Betts  in  his  "New  Ideals  in  Rural  Schools"  gives  the  fol- 
lowing vivid  summary  of  some  of  the  agencies  at  work  for  ad- 
vancement in  methods  of  farming:  "Special  corn  trains  and 
dairy  trains  have  traversed  nearly  every  county  in  many  states 
teaching  the  farmers  scientific  methods.  Lectures  on  scienti- 
fic agriculture  have  found  their  way  into  many  communities. 
The  Federal  government  has  encouraged  in  every  way  the 
spread  of  information  and  the  development  of  enthusiasm  in 
agriculture.  The  agricultural  schools  and  colleges  have  given 
courses  on  instruction  during  the  winter  to  farmers.  Far- 
mers' institutes  have  been  organized;  corn-judging  and  stock- 
judging  contests  have  been  held;  prizes  have  been  offered  for 
the  best  results  in  the  raising  of  grain  and  of  vegetables  or 
stock.  New  varieties  of  grains  have  been  introduced,  im- 
proved methods  of  cultivation  have  been  discovered,  and 
means  of  enriching  and  conserving  the  soil  devised.     Stock 

44 


breeding  and  the  care  of  animals  is  becoming  a  science.  Farm- 
ing bids  fair  to  become  soon  one  of  the  skilled  occupations." 

New  Fields  of  Work  in  Rural  Communities.  We  are  de- 
veloping new  lines  of  trained  service  in  rural  communities. 
The  schools  are  training  teachers  for  country  schools,  the 
breeders'  associations  are  training  experts  in  cattle  raising; 
the  University  is  sending  out  its  farm  managers,  or  county 
agents.  All  along  the  line  there  is  a  renewed  interest  in  the 
development  of  country  life.  The  object  of  this  greater  ac- 
tivity has  been  well  stated  by  Dean  Liberty  Hyde  Bailey  of 
Cornell  Agricultural  College  when  he  says  that  a  good  farmer 
is  a  man  who  has  the  ability : 

1.  To  make  a  full  and  a  comfortable  living  from  the  land, 

2.  To  rear  a  family  carefully  and  well, 

3.  To  be  of  good  service  to  the  community, 

4.  To  leave  the  farm  more  productive  than  it  was  when 
he  took  it. 

The  Farmer's  Creed 

The  fundamental  purpose  of  all  rural  economic  and  social 
teaching  is  admirably  summed  up  in  Mann's  Farmer's  Creed: 

I  believe  in  a  permanent  agriculture,  a  soil  that  shall  grow 
richer  rather  than  poorer  year  by  year. 

I  beheve  in  hundred  bushel  corn  and  fifty  bushel  wheat,  and 
I  shall  not  be  satisfied  with  anything  less. 

I  believe  that  the  only  good  weed  is  a  dead  weed,  and  that 
a  clean  farm  is  as  important  as  a  clean  conscience. 

I  believe  in  the  farm  boy  and  the  farm  girl,  the  farmer's 
best  crops  and  the  future's  best  hope. 

I  believe  in  the  farm  woman  and  will  do  all  in  my  power  to 
make  her  life  easier  and  happier.. 

I  beheve  in  a  country  school  that  prepares  for  country,  and 
a  country  church  that  teaches  its  people  to  love  deeply  and  to 
live  honorably. 

46 


I  believe  in  a  community  spirit,  a  pride  in  home  and  neigh- 
bors, ajnd  1  will  do  my  part  to  make  my  own  community  the 
best  in  the  State. 

I  believe  in  the  farmer.  I  believe  in  farm  life,  I  believe  in 
the  inspiration  of  the  open  country. 

I  am  proud  to  be  a  farmer,  and  I  will  try  earnestly  to  be 
worthy  of  the  name^ 


46 


Small  Library  on  Rural  Economics  and  Rural  Sociology 

Bailey — The  Country  Life  Movement,  Macmillan  Co.,  Chicago,   $1.25. 
The    training-    of   Farmers,    The    Century    Co.,    Chicago    $1.25 

Betts — New  ideals  in  Rural  Education.  Riverside  Educational  Monographs. 
Houghton,   Mifflin    Co.,    Chicago,    $.60. 

Buell,  Jennie — One  Woman's  Work  for  Farm  Women — Whitconib  &  Bar- 
rows,   Boston,    $.50. 

Butterfleld — Chapters  in  Rural  Progress.  University  of  Chicago  Press, 
Chicago,  $1.00.  The  Country  Church.  The  University  of  Chicago 
Press,    $1.00. 

Burnliam — Two  Types  of  Rural  Schools.  Columbia  University,  New  York 
City,    $.75. 

Cary — Agricultural  or  Rural  Economics  and  Sociology.  State  Superin- 
tendent  C.   P.   Cary,   Madison.     Free   pamphlet. 

Carver — Principles  of  Rural  Economics.     Ginn  &  Co.,  Chicago,   $1.30 

Cubberley — Rural  Life  and  Education.     Houghton,  Mifflin  Co.,  $1.50. 

Dodd,  Mrs.  Heien — The  Healthful  Farmhouse.  Whitcomb  &  Barrows, 
Boston. 

Ely— Outlines    of    Economics.     The    MacMillan    Co.,    $2.00. 

FosrM — The  American  Rural  School.     MacMillan  Co.,  Boston,   $1.25. 

Gillete's — Constructive  Rural  Sociology.     Sturgis  &  Walton,   $1.60. 

Hagrsrard — Rural  Denmark.     Longsman,  Green  &  Co.,  Chicago,   $2.25. 

Kern — Among   Country   Schools.     Ginn   &'  Co.,   Chicago,    $1.25. 

McKeever — Farm   Boys  and  Girls — The  MacMillan  Co.,   $1.50 

Wilson — Church  of  Open  Country.  Missionary  Education  Movement,  New 
York,   $.50. 

From  the  Bureau  of  Education,  Washington,  D.   C,   the  following  may 
be  had: 

No.  12.  1914.  Rural  School  Houses  and  Grounds.  Free. 
No.  24.  1914.  Danish  Elementary  Rural  Schools.  Free, 
No.   30.   1914.     Consolidation    of    Rural    Schools.     Free. 

The  following  bulletins  will  be   found  valuable: 

Rural    Social    Centers    in    Wisconsin.     University    of    Wisconsin,    Madi- 
son.    Free. 

Social  and  Civic  Center  Work   in  Country  Communities.     State   Super- 
intendent  Cary,   Madison.     Free. 

Method    of   Making    a    Social    Survey    of    a    Rural    Community.     Galpin. 
University  of  Wisconsin,  Madison.     Free. 

A  Social  Survey  of  a  Rural  School  District.  Galpin  and  Davies.  Univer- 
sity of  Wisconsin.     Free. 

A  Social  Survey  of  Rural  Communities.     G.   F.  Wells.     The  author,  150 
Fifth  Avenue,  New  York,  10  cents. 

Report  of  the   Commission  on  Country  Life.     Superintendent  of  Docu- 
ments, Washington,   D.   C.   10   cents. 

Report  of  the  Committee  of  Fifteen  on  Rural  Schools.     State  Superin- 
tendent Cary,  Madison,  Wis.     Free. 

Rural  Church   Surveys.     Dept.   of  Church   and  Country  Life.     Board  of 
Home  Missions,  756  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York. 

47 


Agriculture  and  Rural  Life  Day.     Superintendent  of  Documents,  Wash- 
ington, D,  C.  10  cents. 

Possibilities   of   the   Country   Home.     Davenport   University    of   Illinois, 
Urbana,  111. 

An   Agricultural    Survey.     Bulletin    295.     Cornell    Agricultural    College. 
Ithaca,   New    York.     Free. 

A  Course  in  the  Practical  Problems  of  Rural  Life 

BIGHTH     GRADB 


The  purpose  of  this  course  is  to  relate  the  work  of  the  school  to  the 
life  of  the  rural  community.  Every  lesson  we  teach  in  school  should  have 
some  direct  purpose,  some  reason  for  teaching  it  which  we  have  in  mind. 
The  questions  presented  here  are  suggestive  only.  The  teacher's  ingenuity 
will  suggest  others.  Their  use  will  stimulate  teachers  to  make  the 
■work  of  the  schoolroom  practical  and  will  lead  pupils  to  see  the  value 
of  the   lessons  they  are  learning  in   school. 

Reading 

Pupil's  questions:  Am  I  able  to  read  a  story  book,  a  newspaper,  a 
popular  magazine,  a  farm  bulletin?  Make  a  list  of  books  you  have 
read. 

1.  The  following  places  were  mentioned  in  one  Chicago  daily. 
Where  are  they?  Petrograd,  Vienna,  Los  Angeles,  London,  Paris,  Po- 
land,   Belgium,   Brooklyn. 

2.  Explain  the  following  sentences  which  occurred  in  the  same  paper, 
(a).     The    Supreme   court    handed    down   a   decision,      (b)    A   strike    has 

been  declared   by  the  United  Mine  Workers.     The  Department   of  Agricul- 
ture has  issued  a  bulletin. 

3.  Answer  the   following  question: 

(a).  What  farm  papers  do  you  know?  (b)  How  many  magazines 
can  you  name?  (c).  What  are  the  principal  papers  published  in  your 
county  and  the  politics  of  each?  What  are  the  leading  Chicago  papers. 
How  do  you  get  a  bulletin  from  the  University?  From  the  Department  of 
Agriculture?  Name  a  woman's  paper;  a  boy's  paper. 

4.  What  poem  of  country  life  do  you  know?  Who  is  your  favorite 
poet?     Author? 

Agriculture 

Pupil's  question.  Do  I  know  enough  to  be  a  farmer?  Try  these  ques- 
tions: 

1.  What  birds  are  common  in  the  neighborhood?  What  do  they  eat? 
Classify  them  as  farmers'  friends  and  farmers'   enemies.     Don't  guess. 

2.  What  weeds  are  common  in  the  neighborhood?  Can  you  recog- 
nize them?  How  do  they  affect  (a)  the  crop,  (b)  the  value  of  land?  What 
is    being    done    to    eradicate    them? 

3.  What  insects  are  common  in  the  neighborhood?  What  destroys 
them?     Find  out  from  your  fathers  and  by   reading. 

4.  May  a  plant  have  a  disease?  Name  some  plant  diseases  in  the 
neighborhood.     How   cured,   if  curable? 

5.  Name  crop^  which  exhaust  the  soil,  are  hard  on  the  soil  as  far- 
mers say?  What  crops  build  up  the  soil?  What  crop  rotations  do  you 
know    of    in    the    neighborhood? 

48 


6.  Show  how  there  may  be  waste  and  bad  management  in  (a)  cara  of 
machinery,  (b)  time,  (c)  kind  of  milk  cows  kept,  (d)  care  of  animals,  (e) 
bad  seed,  (f)  selling  only  such  products  as  wheat,  hay,  corn,  rather  than 
hogs,  cattle,  milk,  etc. 

7.  What  must  a  successful  farmer  know?  What  personal  qualities 
make  for  success?  What  are  the  advantages  of  farm  life?  What  ar« 
some  of  the  disadvantages?  What  may  be  done  to  overcome  the  disadvan- 
tages? 

8.  Every  large  factory  has  an  experiment  room.  Show  the  value  of 
a  small  piece  of  ground  used  to  try  out  new  crops  such  as'  alfalfii.  soy 
bean,  etc.? 

9.  How  can  you  get  farm  bulletins  from  the  University?  From  the 
Department   of  Agriculture?     Of  what   value   are   these   bulletins? 


History 


Test  your  knowledge  of  farm  history  by  the  following  questions: 

1.  What  did  the  Indians  teach  the  early  settler  about  farming? 

2.  Which  of  the  principal  farm  products  of  your  neighborhood,  crops 
and  animals,  are  native  to  this  country? 

3.  Make  a  list  of  the  machines  found  on  your  father's  farm.  What 
was  used  before  each  was  invented?  About  how  long  since  it  was  invent- 
ed?    How  did  it  affect   farming? 

4.  What  does  your  father  know  about  farming  which  your  grand- 
father did   not   know? 

5.  Write  a  sketch  of  the  life  of  the  first  settlers  in  your  district,  de- 
scribing their  food,  clothing,  shelter,  crops,  tools,  educational  opportuni- 
ties,  travel,   amusements,   hardships. 

6.  Compare  the  w^ork  which  your  mother  has  to  do  in  the  home  with 
the  work  which  your  great  grandmother  had  to  do. 

7.  How  have  railroads  helped  the  farmer?  When  did  this  help  come 
to    your    neighborhood? 

8.  Write   the   history  of  the   hoof  and   mouth   disease. 

9.  What  is  the  Department  of  Agriculture?  What  good  does  it  do 
your  father?     Look  up  its  history.     How  do  you  get  bulletins  from  it? 

10.  What  is  an  agricultural  college?  What  does  it  cost  to  attend  an 
agricultural  college  for  a  year?  What  would  you  learn  there?  How  can 
you  get   bulletins  from   the   college?     What  bulletins   have   you. 

11.  What  is  a  farmers  institute?  Give  an  account  of  what  is  done  at 
a  farmers'  institute? 

12.  What  is  a  country  agricultural  agent?  Who  pays  him?  What 
does  he  do?  What  is  being  done  in  your  neighborhood  to  improve  crops 
in  quality  and  quantity? 

13.  Tell  what  each  of  the  following  men  have  done  for  farmers:  (a) 
Washington,  (b)  Seaman  A.  Knapp,  (c)  Burbank,  (d)  O.  H.  Kelley,  (e) 
Babcock. 

14.  Write  the  history  of  your  school,  showing  progress  that  has  been 
made  since  it  was  first  started  and  pointing  out  ways  in  which  it  could  be 
improved  still  further. 

49 


Arithmetic 


Pupil's  question.  Do  I  know  enough  arithmetic  to  be  a  farmer?  Solve 
the  following. 

(1)  2240  lbs.   Clover  Hay  at  $14  a  ton.     Solve. 

(2)  3200   lbs.   oats   at    $.32   a   bushel.     Solve. 

(3)  400    lbs.   hogs   at    $6.90   a   hundred.     Solve. 

(4)  Explain  difference  between  quit  claim  and  warranty  deed. 

(5)  A  farmer  paid  $125  for  a  binder.  It  lasted  twelve  years.  Dur- 
ing that  time  he  paid  out  ten  dollars  for  repairs.  Interest  at  the  rate  of 
six  per  cent.     What  did  the  binder  cost  him  a  year? 

(6)  Draw   a   check,   a  note,   a  receipt. 

(7)  Find  out  what  it  costs  to  raise  corn,  wheat  or  potatoes  per  bushel 
by  getting  the  figures  from  your  father.     To  produce  a  pound  of  pork. 

(8)  How  would  you  send  money  to  Chicago?  Name  and  describe 
three   ways. 

(9)  Explain  the  following  common  terms, — F.  O.  B.;  Bill  of  lading; 
Savings   account. 

(10)  What   makes   a   national   bank   safe? 

(11)  Explain  the   following  principles  of  investment:      (a)    safety  first, 
(b)  high  rate  of  interest,  great  risk. 


Geography 


1.  What  are  the  principal  farm  products  of  your  districts?  Explain 
what   has  made   these   the   principal  products. 

2.  For  what  products  is  your  state  noted?  What  conditions  have 
made  these   products  possible? 

3.  Locate  on  a  map  the  principal  corn,  cotton,  wheat,  beef,  pork,  and 
dairy  sections  of  the  United  States.  Explain  why  those  areas  are  known 
for    the    particular    products. 

4.  Make  a  soil  map  of  your  district.  Locate  on  this  map  the  princi- 
pal  farm   crops.     Locate    the   dairy   farms;   the   silos. 

5.  Compare  the  life  on  your  farm  with  the  life  on  a  farm  in  England. 
In  Russia.      In   Germany. 

6.  Make  a  map  of  your  township,  locating  churches,  schools,  creamer- 
ies,  villages,   best  roads. 

7.  Why   is  truck   farming  carried  on   near  Chicago? 

8.  Take  a  time  table  and  find  out  how  soon  you  could  reach  Cincin- 
nati.    Denver. 

9.  Show  how  the  farming  carried  on  in  the  West  differs  from  the 
farming  in  the  Central  States.     Why  is  this? 

10.     Show  how  altitudes,   light,  heat,   rainfall,  soil,  and   means  of  trans- 
portation  affect   farm   products. 

50 


Civics 

Test  your  ideas  of  citizenship  by  the  following: 

1.  If  you  were  elected  school  clerk  what  would  you  do  to  make  your 
school  a  better  one? 

2.  What  kinds  of  taxes  do  we  pay  and  what  do  we  get  in  return? 
Get  a  tax  receipt  from  your  father  and  be  definite  in  your  answers.  Are 
taxes  a  blessing:  or  an   evil? 

3.  What  roads  in  your  district  need  to  be  improved? 

4.  What   other   public   improvements   might   be   made? 

5.  Describe  your  day's  work  if  you  were  a  member  of  the  legislature 
of  your  state.  Explain  how  you  would  introduce  a  bill  and  what  is  done 
with  it  to  get  it  through.  Write  one  bill  you  would  introduce  if  you  were 
a  member  of  the  legislature.  What  qualities  make  a  good  member  of  the 
legislature. 

6.  Should  your  mother  vote  as  well  as  your  father? 

7.  Tell  what  you  would  have  to  do  were  you  (a)  drawn  on  jury,  (b) 
subpoenaed  as  a  witness,    (c)   elected  county  superintendent  of  schools. 

8.  Name  all  the  schools  that  we  support  by  taxation  and  tell  what 
good  we  derive  from  each. 

9.  What  is  the  value  of  (a)  pure  food  laws,  (b)  milk  inspection  laws, 
(c)  weed  laws,   (d)  fish  and  game  laws? 

10.  How  is  your  community  provided  with  (a)  high  school  advantages, 
(b)   churches,    (c)   farmers'  clubs? 

11.  Compare  the  value  of  land  near  a  city  in  your  county  with  the 
value  of  land  far  from  the  city.  Account  for  the  difference.  Compare  the 
value  now  with  that  of  20  years  ago. 

12  What  is  a  good  road?  Look  up  the  history  of  Macadam,  What  is 
a  macadam  road?  What  does  a  good  road  cost  a  mile  to  build?  How  does 
a  good  road  affect  the  value  of  farm  property?  How  does  it  affect  schools, 
churches,  social  life? 

13.  What  is  the  most  common  form  of  rent  in  the  neighborhood — share 
or  cash?  Are  tenants  or  owners  more  likely  to  improve  the  farm,  the  farm 
home,  the  community?     Why? 


Hygiene 


1.  What  are  the  most  common  communicable  diseases  in  your  neigh- 
borhood?    How  do  we  catch  them?     How  can   we   prevent   them? 

2.  Why  do  more  children,  especially  babies,  die  during  the  fly  season 
than  at  any  other  time?     Explain  how  to  get  rid  of  the  fly? 

3.  How  may  the  farm  home  be  made  more  sanitary?     The  farm  well? 

5.  Name  some  things  which  would  make  the  farm  home  more  com- 
fortable. 

6.  Secure  from  the  state  departments,  from  the  State  University,  and 
from  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  bulletins  giving  plans  for  sani- 
tary outside  toilets,   etc. 

7.  How  may  the  drainage  of  the  farm  yard  affect  the  health  of  the 
family?     Draw  diagrams  to  show. 

8.  At  what  temperature  must  milk  be  kept  in  order  for  it  to  be  safe 
milk  to  feed  babies?  How  may  this  be  accomplished?  How  many  farm 
homes  in  your  neighborhood  are  supplied  with  ice? 

9.  How  should  an  ice  house  be  built?  What  is  the  nearest  place  from 
which  ice  can  be  drawn  in  the  winter?  Does  an  ice  supply  in  your  neigh- 
borhood cost  much  money?     Much  labor? 

10.     Give   two    reasons   why    manure    should   be   hauled   to    the  fields   as 
made. 

51 


Choice  of  an  Occupation 

What   occupation   requires    least   investment?     Farmer,    doctor,    lawyer, 
merchant,  minister,  clerk,  machinist,  laborer. 

"What   occupation   requires   the    least   education?     As   above. 

What  occupation  requires  the  most  investment? 

What  requires  the  most  education? 

What  occupation  requires  most  of  both? 

What  occupation  requires  the   longest  hours  of  work? 

What   occupation   requires   the   most    responsibility? 

What  are   the  objectionable  features  to   each  occupation? 

What  occupation  appeals  to  you  as  the  best?     Why? 

What  part  should  your  personal  liking  play  in  making  your  decision? 

What  wages  do  clerks  receive?     Factory  employees? 

What  wages  do  skilled   laborers  command?     Unskilled  laborers? 

What  are  the  advantages  of  each? 

What  must  a  farmer  know  to  be  a  good  farmer?     a  doctor?     a  lawyer? 

What  personal  qualities  make  for  success  in  each  occupation? 


52 


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